Hey Google, if Megan Smith had returned my calls you could have figured out how to make this complete. Without a delivery system in place--getting the info out in the field in front of emergency services...it serves as only a way for people to manage their information but not get it in front of those charged to make life saving decisions.

Yet another false sense of security for subscribers. Other than what I have worked 5 years to accomplish (using my experience as a firefighter/paramedic the past 20 years) I think mymedicalrecords.com is way ahead of the game. Led by LA Businessman, Robert Lorsch, this solution is the best I have ever seen. I think they have as many as 50million records and are going global.

Maybe a merger? Taekover? Buyout?

What I do puts the finishing touches on these online health record programs.

[URL unlinked, just in case. -Philipp]

This is nothing but freaking scary!

I am also interested in knowing how Google will monetize this. Not because I am a Wall Street-watcher type of person. But because I am an average member of the public and like to know how my information gets used.

Libran LoverLibran Lover:
I seriously think that Google won't try to get money from their health app directly. Google relies on a network that provides suppport and traffic because it trusts Google. I think it would be a great danger to put ads on the health center, and Google expects users to merely search for information about drugs and related services. Thus, users will use the search box at the top of the health center, which will then direct people to the Google search engine, which displays classic ads and also redefine search requests (try a search about health issue, you'll see labelled results and suggestions).

Really what is the puporse here? A central location for providers to pull data I guess, but Google controlling everyone health records seems scary indeed.

Do you think health records should stay in a doc's computers? Why?

Once I've answered this question, it seems obvious to me that only Internet companies like Google can really make interesting stuffs from those information. I don't know how to describe that – mashing them up? – but for sure, my PC wouldn't get anything from them, except useless disk space.

What assure me that Google will respect my privacy? Brand image. Google, the name, is valued USD 66B because its managers work hard to protect what is the very reason of their success: Google's reliability.

The day they sell my health records to employers or insurances, I definitely delete my Google account and all information stored in Gmail, Gdocs, Gsites, Web History, Orkut (...). I'm sure we would all react in the same way, and Google would then die.

Who would trust Google if someone proves such an abuse? As Google can lose 40% of its market value in 4 months (since 6 Nov.) because people fear a "mere" +30% growth, Google can also lose most of its users within days. Google relies on a community of fan, and fans are known to change radically their feeling from love to hate when betrayed.

As a practicing medical doctor and former programmer –

This medical record problem is enormous in scope.

Google has the power to change this, and fix this issue for our country and the world. (I've written them plenty of times begging to help explain what the doctors are looking for – So far, I'm still seeing patients, not working for Google.) :(

Anyway, if they can actually *sell* the concept to the public – Get public buy-in of this – Then the technology will fall into place to tie everything together, and the problem can be solved.

Should be interesting to see if the public cares enough to buy-in to this.

By the way, why don't people care that their financial information is available online? Why is health information so much more sacred? If you want to learn about someone, look at their credit card receipts online. (I'm often puzzled by how the public thinks about privacy – Health is more important than financial?)

Unfortunately, the public is quite confused about what Google is doing and why it is relevant/important. Previous poster, the MD, has it about right – it is all about getting medical records into a digital format for sharing amongst physicians and family members. If one digs deeper into the subject, one finds a run-away train right now that will literally cripple the economy as the baby boomers start hitting retirement and start filling up hospitals with any number of ailments. Anything that can be done in advance to promote better, pro-active care by looking at and changing risk factors (Google and like minded solutions are trying to tackle this) along with improving continuity of care need to be supported/encouraged.

As an FYI, I am an industry analyst doing research on the personal healthcare technology market – more on the subject over at www.chilmarkresearch.com.

BTW, first posting was a product spam and mmr is nothing more than a dated fax archival system with little long term utility. To their credit though, digital medical records are hard to come by as the vast majority of docs still use pen and paper.