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Privacy Promises Are Central to Google Health

February 29, 2008 04:28 PM ET | David LaGesse | Permanent Link

Google has launched a pilot test of its health service.

(Courtesy of Google)

Promises of privacy play prominently in new services for storing consumer medical records online. Privacy and security, for example, are the top issue in a Google blog about its new service, called Google Health. The initiative, like others from Microsoft and Revolution Health, will offer a central, online account for storing and monitoring a patient's medical data.

But the new services don't come with the federal guarantees of privacy, a privacy group warns. Those rules apply only to healthcare providers, such as a hospital or a health plan.

Consumers are free to voluntarily move their data to a third party, such as the new online services. But strict federal privacy protections "generally do not 'travel' with or follow a medical record that is disclosed to a third party outside the healthcare treatment and payment system," says the World Privacy Forum.

Many patients will take advantage of the services, which aim to ease the crush of healthcare paperwork and give consumers more control over their care. But even well-managed and well-intentioned services will weaken consumer control over data.

"We won't sell or share your data without your explicit permission," wrote Google exec Marissa Mayer.

Sounds good. But part of the federal rules governs exactly how a consumer would "explicitly" agree to share records. Without government controls, the privacy forum warns, it could be much easier for a consumer to accidentally or casually authorize the sharing of records.

Tags: privacy | health | Google | medical records

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Reader Comments

Contract Law Empowers Patients

The World Privacy Forum's fears are overblown. Privacy law is remarkably flexible and capable of achieving patient goals. For example, to address the privacy fears associated with Google health records, patients might, on their own accord, embed legal terms and conditions in their electronic health records. <a href="http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/02/contracts-for-patient-privacy.html">http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/02/contracts-for-patient-privacy.html</a> http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/02/contracts-for-patient-privacy.html

Benjamin Wright of TX
Feb 29, 2008 18:46:56 PM [permalink] [report comment]

HIPAA does cover this...

HIPAA covers the health information and if Google is becoming a Health information provider than they have to be HIPAA compliant. How that works is through the organizations, ie the Ohio Hospital. The hospital, per HIPAA, can not enter an agreement with a nonHIPAA company to share or give information. So I don't understand why there is a big deal. Now this covers only those hospitals/healthcare providers in the United States so there may be issues abroad. But in the United States Google will have to adhere to the standards of privacy per HIPAA in order for hospitals or doctors can update any information it holds.

shaggy of NC
Feb 29, 2008 19:17:24 PM [permalink] [report comment]

This will be great if Google can understand HIPAA

I personally think that this is a great thing. It is a real opportunity to do something positive to help reduce health care costs and improve a system that is totally dysfunctional. Now a patient has to ask one provider to send chart information to another provider. This frequently comes with a need for a paper release, and often some cost to the patient. In any case there is a lot of paperwork, time delays, and general aggravation.

I have worked for health care facilities that have electronic client record systems, and also ones that use the old fashion paper chart. Using the electronic system is so much better that I cannot begin to describe the differences. However once you use ECR you will never want to do a chart entry long hand.

Google needs to make sure it is HIPAA compliant, with multiple levels of security. They know how to do it, and I am confident that they will. Think about being able to have one doctor look at a new CT or MRI at the click of a button. Think about the clarity of perscriptions, where you can actually read the drug name and the amount. Sounds easy but I will tell you from first hand experience that there are more mistakes made that you ever want to know about in that one area alone.

I hope that Google developes this the way that they do everything else, with professionalism. Hopefully they will develop some standard forms etc. that can help small clinics and agencies without big budgets go electronic.

Dr. Allan I. Rubenstein, LADC of MN
Feb 29, 2008 19:43:47 PM [permalink] [report comment]

Adhere to HIPPA and No Ads

Google Health could be a great time saving and money saving convenience to patients and hospitals.

Although, Google will need to override it's natural impulse to litter Google Health with advertisements, particularly from drug companies.

I understand HIPPA compliance as I worked in a hospital.

Yet, is it possible that when a patient pulls up their medical record on Google, a cookie, tag or mark is initiated whereby that patient could be specifically targeted with specific advertisements, on the site relative to their medical condition after viewing their record?

Is some information hypothetically say, ten million patients utilizing Google Health, with some form of heart disease conducive to spiderability (and ads) from their online check in's of their charts?

I know the question sounds farfetched...until it happens. Google is known for site ad placement.

Adrienne Zurub, Author/Speaker of OH
Mar 01, 2008 06:12:54 AM [permalink] [report comment]

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luise of CA
Mar 02, 2008 06:10:37 AM [permalink] [report comment]

shkurtesa of
Mar 02, 2008 13:34:58 PM [permalink] [report comment]

We need compensation for identity theft

Although our society is too litigious and I generally dislike it, we need laws awarding compensation for identity theft. In the last 12 months alone, my medical insurance company allowed my records onto a laptop which was stolen or misplaced, and my info was also stolen by hackers after I visited a high security government installation. It is ridiculous to think your information will not be compromised as long as there are no laws demanding that you be compensated when it happens.

T Mooney of NJ
Mar 03, 2008 13:43:58 PM [permalink] [report comment]

Electronic Health Record

While certification is the rule for medical records/health information technicians and administrators, and even now for coders, it is not in any way the rule for medical transcriptionists.

In spite of the common cry, "Voice recognition will put you out of a job," the fact is that VR cannot function without a human to make sure the information is correct. VR doesn't "think" and cannot identify context or meaning.

With the move to outsource more transcription, healthcare institutions are losing control over their medical information; particularly with the move to outsourcing these services overseas.

Medical transcription services generally employ people they never meet. They depend on online testing and telephone interviews. The fact that so much patient information is moving around so freely without much incident is a credit to the dedication of medical transcriptionists across this country.

However, in this situation I feel we are ripe for disaster if local and national government representatives do not listen to the professional organizations including AHIMA and AHDI who are trying to bring this situation to their attention.

I don't know about you, but this is starting to scare me.

Patricia James, CMT of WA
Mar 03, 2008 13:46:14 PM [permalink] [report comment]

Electronic Records Don't Improve Health Care

Electronic Records Don't Improve Health Care says a report from HHS http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/ Shifting to Electronic Medical Records makes since, to make medicine more efficient thereby reducing administrative costs, in other words a business decision. If government mandates it, then it is a forerunner requirement to prepare for government take over of health care, Socialized/universal healthcare. The government caused the problem with health care in America by over socializing medicine to the extent it is not completive. http://www.InteliOrg.com/

Dr Coles of CA
Mar 03, 2008 17:13:39 PM [permalink] [report comment]

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mymalifexx of AL
Mar 28, 2008 06:40:28 AM [permalink] [report comment]