Google Health debut gets warm welcome

Google Inc stepped into the medical area with the launch of its long-anticipated Google Health last month, a service that combines the firm's staple search services with a user's personal health records online.

The password-protected service, available only to US users, stores each individual's basic medical history, with links to major national pharmacies, doctors groups and laboratories. The site will allow patients to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions and receive diagnostic results online.

Additional features include a "virtual pillbox", which reminds patients when they need to take medications and flags up potential drug interactions.

Google Health was initially run as a pilot project, in connection with the Cleveland Clinic. Patients were able to send personal information, access data from the clinic's medical files and share information with physicians outside of the Cleveland network.

The programme encouraged patients to use their records more frequently, said Dr C. Martin Harris, Cleveland's chief information officer. "It positioned our personal health record more into an activity that they use every day."

Critics have voiced concern over potential breaches of privacy, caused by storing health records online. In response, Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president for search services and user experience, said the company would store personal health information on computers that are separate from the company's other endeavors and had created an additional layer of security.

Privacy concerns don't appear to have dissuaded the medical industry, however. More than a dozen firms and institutes, including the American Heart Association, have already been confirmed as partners.

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