oogle Inc.’s personal health record within Google Health allows individuals
to collect, store and manage their own health-related records online. Its purpose
is to organize patient information and make it accessible and useful, according
to the company.
Google Health allows users to automatically import their medical
records, prescription histories and test results into an online profile that can
be accessed from anywhere at any time for free.
Eventually, Google intends to allow users to have access to
tools and services such as scheduling appointments, refilling prescriptions and
utilizing wellness tools, Marissa Mayer, vice president of search and user products,
said in a statement.
For example, a blood pressure device manufacturer could integrate
its devices with the platform. As a result, Google Health users could take their
blood pressure with the device and then upload the reading into the online portal
using a USB device.
Google has already partnered with several companies, including
CVS Caremark Group’s MinuteClinic, Walgreen Co., Cleveland Clinic and Quest Diagnostics
to integrate their information into the platform. Users can link their records from
those organizations to their Google Health account.
Google Health records are portable and users can access and
control them from anywhere. They can import information from any health plan or
medical provider, manually entering the data or uploading it, depending on whether
the information comes from a Google Health partner.
"We aren’t doctors or health care experts," Mayer said in
a statement, "but one thing Google can create is a clean, easy-to-use user experience
that makes managing your health information straightforward and easy."
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