Personal Injury Law

Google and Cleveland Clinic Marry in Health Records Experiment

By Jane Akre

The Cleveland Clinic is a leader in health information technology as well as medical advancements. Google is the world's leading internet search company.  So it makes sense that they are teaming up.

Google Inc is collaborating with Cleveland Clinic to pilot a new project which helps patients manage their own health information.

In this pilot study, by invitation-only, the clinic plans to enroll between 1,500 and 10,000 patients. The trial will test the secure exchange of medical record data such as prescriptions, conditions and allergies, between the clinic and a secure Google profile in a live clinical delivery setting.

This should put patients in the driver's seat, whether they are dealing with multiple doctors or pharmacies. 

The study will help Google test features and services with the goal of eventually allowing patients to direct the exchange of their medical information in this portable patient data.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that analysts predict the company has big plans to venture into the health-care market boosting advertising revenue by becoming a go-to site for information related to health care.

Some may question whether they want a search engine to have so much sensitive information about users.  Last year Google rejected a U.S. Justice Department demand for access to millions of its users' search requests.  Google introduced a new system that purges users' search records every 18 months.

The third-party services are troublesome because they aren't covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, which just issued a cautionary report on the topic.

In  news release Google says "We believe patients should be able to easily access and manage their own health information," said Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products and User Experience, Google. "We chose Cleveland Clinic as one of the first partners to pilot our new health offering because as a provider, they already empower their patients by giving them online tools that help them manage their medical records online and coordinate care with their doctors." #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on February 21, 2008 (boomark / email).