Is Google site good for your health records?

cseper By cseper
on June 03, 2008 at 1:59 AM, updated June 03, 2008 at 7:44 AM
Read on to get answers to a dozen questions, including:

• So what's different about Google Health?

• What records go on Google Health?

• I don't use the Clinic. Can't my doctor just put my records on there?

• Who can see your records?

• Does it cost anything?
People have heard about the benefits of putting their medical records online:

They can be accessed wherever you become ill.

They allow you to better track your health.

They may end the hassle of filling out a doctor's clipboard full of questions.

But people worry about the drawbacks -- especially if a security breach unleashes your most private details into the public domain.

Internet giant Google's recent jump into the medical business with its Google Health site,, brought the debate to the desktops of millions of people, who suddenly wonder: What should I do?

Though the service is still developing, experts offer a little advice and some questions to consider.

Do I have another choice?

Your doctor or insurance company may already store your records electronically. Experts say this is the way of the future.

Kaiser Permanente insurance has a database of records for all its patients. So do the Cleveland Clinic and Veterans Administration health centers. University Hospitals plans to have such a system in place by next year.

In those health systems, doctors can see all the records. Patients can even look them up online from home.

So what's different about Google Health?

Google Health and several others, including HealthVault, started by Microsoft last year, take the idea to another level.

These systems let you gather your records from all your doctors -- old ones, new ones, from near and far -- in one online warehouse. That saves you from keeping a pile of papers in the house, lets you see them with a few keystrokes and gives you a way to share them with your current doctors.

Does that really help?

That depends.

It's valuable if you have doctors in different cities or health systems that need to share your records, if you need help keeping track of your prescriptions or if you need help tracking things like immunizations or the dates of certain tests or treatments.

If you have all your care through one system, like the Clinic or Kaiser, it may be redundant.

What records go on Google Health?

Whatever you decide to put there.

Now, online systems can take only text files -- electronic versions of prescriptions, doctors' notes and lab reports. Technology limitations prevent large, detailed files, such as digital X-rays or CAT scans, from going online, but written evaluations of those scans can be entered.

Microsoft is promoting how some test results can be automatically transmitted to HealthVault as you take them.

How do my records get on there?

You can enter data yourself, though this can take a long time if you have a lot of information to enter. For a fee, a company working with Google will gather the records and put them on.

Clinic patients have it easier. The Clinic is the only local health provider working with Google. On Google Health, the Clinic will enter many of your records.

Walgreens and CVS drugstores are also partners. Their records can go on Google Health easily.


Not now. Many doctors don't have electronic records. Those that have records on the computer don't match Google's format.

The concept of online health records is so new that no standard exists. Like any new technology, just as with the VHS and Betamax videotaping battle, a standard format might eventually be reached.

Who can see your records?

Anyone you give your password to, though Google Health advises patients not to share passwords.

A company working with Google Health can send basic information from the system to your doctor before appointments for free, but Google has not developed a way for physicians to check your account.

Does it cost?

Google Health is free. So is HealthVault. Some extra services can cost, though. For example, there's a charge for sending detailed or custom records to a doctor through Google Health.

If I'm a Clinic patient, does all my information end up on Google Health?

Only if you sign up, create an account and authorize the Clinic to send all records there. You can't pick and choose or block any embarrassing information from going on. Once it's there, you can delete at will.

Do doctors recommend using a service like this?

Some do, some don't.

Even though the Clinic is a partner, its chief information officer, Dr. Martin Harris, does not use Google Health. But that's because all his health care is within the Clinic and he's already in the Clinic's computer system.

But Martin advised his father, who has doctors in two cities, to use it. Harris says anyone with doctors in different systems and who is comfortable using the Internet should consider this type of system.

University Hospitals' chief medical information officer, Dr. Holly Miller, said she's not ready to take that step.

"Would I put my personal health information in the hands of a third-party vendor?" she said. "No, not at this time."

Why not?

Caution must guide the process, Miller said. While she believes online records will be common someday, the idea is sorting itself out.

Public education is essential, she said, as are clear policies and terms written in a way users can easily digest. Industry standards need to be established to lock in privacy measures, and auditing or oversight systems need to be established. She recommended a "seal of approval" be developed to boost consumer confidence.

Is Google Health secure?

Google said it is. Privacy experts, however, warn that no system is impervious. Think of the Titanic, the "unsinkable ship." The same theory applies.

A security breach could release personal information -- mental health records, perhaps, or HIV test results -- and shred reputations, said Linda Ackerman, staff counsel for Privacy Activism, a San Francisco-based consumer advocacy group.

Putting health records in the hands of a third party represents a big leap, she said. Consumers need to weigh whether the risk is worth the potential reward.

She said she would not sign on.

"This may be inevitable," Ackerman said, "but I'm not there yet."

Does HIPAA apply?

Because Google's a nonmedical provider, it doesn't fall under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, which aims to protect patient privacy.

"Google's not bound by anything other than a credo to 'Do no evil,' " Ackerman said. "I'm not sure that's sufficient."

Plain Dealer reporter Mary Vanac contributed to this story.