Google Health
Encyclopedia
Google Health is a personal health
information centralization service (sometimes known as personal health record
services) by Google
introduced in 2008 and announced for withdrawal in 2011. The service allows Google users to volunteer their health records – either manually or by logging into their accounts at partnered health services providers – into the Google Health system, thereby merging potentially separate health records into one centralized Google Health profile.
Volunteered information can include "health conditions, medications, allergies, and lab results". Once entered, Google Health uses the information to provide the user with a merged health record, information on conditions, and possible interactions between drugs, conditions, and allergies. Google Health's API is based on a subset of the Continuity of Care Record
.
Google Health, like many other Google products, is free to use for consumers. Unlike other Google services, however, Health currently contains no advertising. Google has not revealed how it plans to make money with the service, but a Wall Street Journal article says that Google "hasn't ruled [advertising] out for the future." Google has filed U.S. Patent Application #20070282632 ,"Method and apparatus for serving advertisements in an electronic medical record system".
with 1,600 patients of The Cleveland Clinic. Starting on May 20, 2008, Google Health was released to the general public as a service in beta test stage.
On September 15, 2010 Google updated Google Health with a new look and feel.
On June 24, 2011 Google announced it is retiring Google Health in January 1, 2012; data will be available for download through January 1, 2013. The reason of abandoning the project is the lack of widespread adoption.
, Anvita Health
, The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
, Blue Cross Blue Shield
of Massachusetts, The Cleveland Clinic, CVS Caremark
, Drugs.com
, Healthgrades
, Longs Drugs
, Medco Health Solutions
, Quest Diagnostics, RxAmerica, and Walgreens
.
Users whose health records reside with other providers may either manually enter their data or pay to have a Google Health partner perform the service. "MediConnect Global" is one such partner; for a fee, they will gather a user's medical records from around the world and add them to his or her profile.
Since January 2010, the Withings
WiFi Body scale enables Google Health users to seamlessly update their weight and other data to their online profiles
Recently, in response to demand for added convenience, Google Health began establishing relationships with telehealth providers that will allow their users to sync the data shared during telehealth consultations with their online health records. To date, partnerships have been formed with the following companies: MDLiveCare
and Hello Health.
According to its Terms of Service
, Google Health is not considered a "covered entity" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; thus, HIPAA privacy laws do not apply to it.
In an article covering Google Health's launch, the New York Times
discussed privacy issues and said that "patients apparently did not shun the Google health records because of qualms that their personal health information might not be secure if held by a large technology company." Others contend that Google Health may be more private than the current "paper" health record system because of reduced human interaction.
Post-launch reactions to Google's stance that it is not a covered entity have varied. Some have been very negative, such as those of Nathan McFeters at ZDNet
. Others, including Free/Open Source Software
Healthcare activist Fred Trotter, argue that a personal health record
service like Google Health would be impossible if it were HIPAA covered.
(PHR) service whose primary competitors in the United States are Microsoft
's HealthVault, Dossia
, and the open-source Indivo project. There are numerous other open-source and proprietary PHR systems, including those that compete outside the United States.
On July 18, 2011, Microsoft released a tool that lets Google Health customers transfer their personal health information to a Microsoft HealthVault account.
had expected before.
Google will continue to operate the Google Health site until January 1, 2012.
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
information centralization service (sometimes known as personal health record
Personal health record
A personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...
services) by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
introduced in 2008 and announced for withdrawal in 2011. The service allows Google users to volunteer their health records – either manually or by logging into their accounts at partnered health services providers – into the Google Health system, thereby merging potentially separate health records into one centralized Google Health profile.
Volunteered information can include "health conditions, medications, allergies, and lab results". Once entered, Google Health uses the information to provide the user with a merged health record, information on conditions, and possible interactions between drugs, conditions, and allergies. Google Health's API is based on a subset of the Continuity of Care Record
Continuity of Care Record
Continuity of Care Record is a health record standard specification developed jointly by ASTM International, the Massachusetts Medical Society , the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society , the American Academy of Family Physicians , the American Academy of Pediatrics , and other...
.
Google Health, like many other Google products, is free to use for consumers. Unlike other Google services, however, Health currently contains no advertising. Google has not revealed how it plans to make money with the service, but a Wall Street Journal article says that Google "hasn't ruled [advertising] out for the future." Google has filed U.S. Patent Application #20070282632 ,"Method and apparatus for serving advertisements in an electronic medical record system".
History
Google Health has been under development since mid-2006. In 2008, the service underwent a two-month pilot testPilot (experiment)
A pilot experiment, also called a pilot study, is a small scale preliminary study conducted in order to evaluate feasibility, time, cost, adverse events, and effect size in an attempt to predict an appropriate sample size and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale...
with 1,600 patients of The Cleveland Clinic. Starting on May 20, 2008, Google Health was released to the general public as a service in beta test stage.
On September 15, 2010 Google updated Google Health with a new look and feel.
On June 24, 2011 Google announced it is retiring Google Health in January 1, 2012; data will be available for download through January 1, 2013. The reason of abandoning the project is the lack of widespread adoption.
Partners
Google Health can currently import medical and/or drug prescription information from the following partners: AllscriptsAllscripts
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that provides physician practices, hospitals, and other healthcare providers with practice management and electronic health record technology, including electronic prescribing, care management, and revenue cycle software...
, Anvita Health
Anvita Health
Anvita Health is a health care analytics company serving doctors, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, disease management companies, point-of-care IT systems, personal health record providers, and other clinical providers. Anvita Health provides the analytics engine for Google Health...
, The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
, Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 39 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 100 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of...
of Massachusetts, The Cleveland Clinic, CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark Corporation is an integrated pharmacy services provider, combining a United States pharmaceutical services company with a U.S. pharmacy chain...
, Drugs.com
Drugs.com
Drugs.com is an online pharmaceutical encyclopedia which provides drug information for consumers and healthcare professionals primarily in the USA.-History:...
, Healthgrades
HealthGrades
HealthGrades Inc. is a U.S. company that develops and markets quality and safety ratings of health care providers, including hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and dentists. Quality ratings are devised from publicly available patient safety data and analyzed with proprietary technology developed...
, Longs Drugs
Longs Drugs
Longs Drugs is an American chain of over 40 drug stores throughout the State of Hawaii. Before being acquired by CVS Caremark in 2008, it was a chain of over 500 stores, located primarily on the West Coast of the United States...
, Medco Health Solutions
Medco Health Solutions
Medco Health Solutions, Inc is a health care company currently serving the needs of more than 65 million people. Medco provides pharmacy services for private and public employers, health plans, labor unions, government agencies, and individuals served by Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans...
, Quest Diagnostics, RxAmerica, and Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
.
Users whose health records reside with other providers may either manually enter their data or pay to have a Google Health partner perform the service. "MediConnect Global" is one such partner; for a fee, they will gather a user's medical records from around the world and add them to his or her profile.
Since January 2010, the Withings
Withings
Withings is a consumer electronics company located in Issy les Moulineaux, France. It was founded in June 2008 near Paris by three executives from the technology and telecom industry: Eric Carreel, co-founder of Inventel, and Sculpteo, Frédéric Potter, co-founder of Cirpack , and Cédric Hutchings...
WiFi Body scale enables Google Health users to seamlessly update their weight and other data to their online profiles
Recently, in response to demand for added convenience, Google Health began establishing relationships with telehealth providers that will allow their users to sync the data shared during telehealth consultations with their online health records. To date, partnerships have been formed with the following companies: MDLiveCare
MDLiveCare
MDLiveCare is an on-demand telehealth company that provides patients with remote access via video, phone, and secure email to board certified doctors and licensed therapists....
and Hello Health.
Privacy concerns
Google Health is an opt-in service, meaning it can only access medical information volunteered by individuals. It does not retrieve any part of a person's medical records without his or her explicit consent and action. However, it does encourage users to set up profiles for other individuals.According to its Terms of Service
Terms of Service
Terms of service are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. Unless in violation of consumer protection laws, such terms are usually legally binding...
, Google Health is not considered a "covered entity" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; thus, HIPAA privacy laws do not apply to it.
In an article covering Google Health's launch, the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
discussed privacy issues and said that "patients apparently did not shun the Google health records because of qualms that their personal health information might not be secure if held by a large technology company." Others contend that Google Health may be more private than the current "paper" health record system because of reduced human interaction.
Post-launch reactions to Google's stance that it is not a covered entity have varied. Some have been very negative, such as those of Nathan McFeters at ZDNet
ZDNet
ZDNet is a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive, along with TechRepublic and SmartPlanet. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991 as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication owned by CNET...
. Others, including Free/Open Source Software
Foss
Foss may refer toPeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop...
Healthcare activist Fred Trotter, argue that a personal health record
Personal health record
A personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...
service like Google Health would be impossible if it were HIPAA covered.
Competitors
Google Health is a personal health recordPersonal health record
A personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...
(PHR) service whose primary competitors in the United States are Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's HealthVault, Dossia
Dossia
Dossia is a Personal health record service offered by some of the largest employers in the United States. Along with Microsoft's HealthVault and Google's Google Health, Dossia is one of the largest PHR deployments in the world....
, and the open-source Indivo project. There are numerous other open-source and proprietary PHR systems, including those that compete outside the United States.
On July 18, 2011, Microsoft released a tool that lets Google Health customers transfer their personal health information to a Microsoft HealthVault account.
Discontinuing
On June 24, 2011, Google has announced that Google Health will be discontinued as a service. Google stated that they are discontinuing Google Health because it did not have a broad impact as GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
had expected before.
Google will continue to operate the Google Health site until January 1, 2012.