The health is on: Google to launch health site next year

Filed under: Internet, Google, Microsoft, Search

The health is on: Google to launch health site next year

by Brad Linder Oct 18th 2007

Google will launch its online consumer health service early next year. We've known that both Google and Microsoft were working on health related services for a while now. But Microsoft beat Google to the punch, launching its HealthVault portal earlier this month.

So what can we expect from Google Health? Google search chief Marissa Mayer says odds are if you're searching for health information online you're already using Google. The company hopes to leverage its search and data organization technology to help patients maintain their personal health information.

Google Health lets patients store personal medical records, search for health information, manage diet and other health information, and even find local doctors. The service will also have tools that allow doctors to better manage their information, and we assume, share that info with their patients.

But this raises an interesting question. Are doctors going to want to sign up for Microsoft, Google, ZocDoc, and other online services just to communicate with their patients? It seems more likely that an individual doctor or medical practice will pick one service and then stick with it.

For example, if you take your kid to Fluffy Bunny pediatrics, you'll find that the doctors are willing to share all of your child's medical records with you over Microsoft HealthVault. If you sign up for Google Health, you'll have to get old-fashioned paper records. Because otherwise, Fluffy Bunny doctors would have to spend time submitting all of their documents to 2 or more different sites, which would increase their workload, not decrease it. This, of course would force health consumers to sign up for multiple services if they want to make sure they have access to the latest information from all of their doctors, meaning that you're the one with a disorganized mess, not your doctor.

So while we like the idea of having a single online location to conduct all of your health-related searches, store all of your medical records, and keep your doctor and family up to date, we're just not sure there's room for multiple competing services in this market.

Tags: doctor, google-health, health, healthvault, marissa-mayer, medical

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

keeves said 4:20PM on 10-18-2007

i can't see UK doctor surgeries signing up for any of these services. I would have thought there would be too much consirn over here about how records are stored, and unless there is a official government/NHS offer the service i don't think the idea would take off. This situation may be different in America though

bienvenunet said 4:40PM on 10-18-2007

"Google search chief Marissa Mayer says odds are if you're searching for health information online you're already using Google."

Wrong, I use WebMD to find health information. Are the folks at Google that arrogant?

michael said 7:28PM on 10-18-2007

If you're searching for anything on the internet, you're already using Google? That's rather supercilious.

I personally have used Microsoft's Health site, and it's pretty nifty. I found a whole lot of info, that was much more centralized, and it's a pretty awesome tool. Also, based o what I've seen, the site seems to be very secure and locked down in a way. It has the Verisign green bar and everything, which probably means its very secure.

Plus the fact that Microsoft was first, also makes it worth something. I don't know about you, but HealthVault is the one for me : https://health.live.com/default.aspx

WellnessAid said 10:39PM on 2-15-2008

Using a "human-powered search engine" would mean that Google would lose its key competitive advantage over Yahoo. This would also mean that Microsoft using its Medstory will get ahead.

Another problem (for both Google and Microsoft) is their focus on "health care" (read "medical care").

The world is quickly moving to a broader health model based on health determinants, while these two big companies are fighting "health care" wars. Health care doesn’t equal health. Health determinants equal health

The first large company that will put this simple health principle into action will lead the new wellness industry. For a long time. Because it will set the standards. That company will truly help billions of people for generations to come... Best wishes!

WellnessAid said 12:47AM on 2-17-2008

HTML did not showed the comment. These three links are to complement the previous post:
1. http://www.medstory.com/
2. http://www.wellnessaid.com/health-services/ehealth-systems/?tx_rhmcommunity_pi1%5Barticle%5D=366
3. http://www.wellnessaid.com

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