May 20, 2008
Google Health Launches
Google Inc. has finally launched its long-awaited Google Health (google.com/health), a service / product that will enable users to upload and store medical records from many sources and get relevant health information.
Yesterday's announcement expands upon Google’s initial notice in February, according to which the company had teamed up with the Cleveland Clinic to test the service with about 10,000 patients who already use the hospital’s online health records system. In this system, patients can upload medical records from organizations, enter their own data and create their own profile, search for viable information on health conditions or ask for a second opinion on their diagnosis.
When this was first announced a key concern was the issue of privacy over user’s sensitive information. A series of privacy watchdog groups believe that Google already knows too much about the interests and habits of its users as its computers log their request and store their e-mail discussions.
Following these concerns, Roni Zeiger, Google product manager, highlighted the fact that "Google Health cares about privacy and puts it in the control of each user. The user decides who, if anyone, has access to their records,' he said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Zieger also stated that it would not sell user data and will not sell health information unless requested by the user but that they may share anonymous data with third parties, such as the percentage of Google Health users with diabetes who had a flu shot.