Google moves into healthcare with online records

by Staff, Brand Republic 21-Feb-08, 10:10

NEW YORK - Google is making what could be the first of many moves into the healthcare market in a pilot aimed at giving patients more control over their online medical records.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Google has signed a deal with non-profit academic medical centre Cleveland Clinic.

It is the internet giant's first move into the medical market, but unlikely to be the last.

The firm has written about medical issues many times on the Google Blog, on topics ranging from the National Library of Medicine to the quality of US medical care.

Google has made no announcement about its plans, but the WSJ speculates that the company has big ambitions in healthcare.

The pilot with the Cleveland Clinic will initially be open to 10,000 patients by invitation. Patients will be able to securely share medical information between the Cleveland Clinic system and a Google online health profile.

According to Cleveland Clinic and Google officials, the idea is that patients can easily take their medical data with them when they move from one medical practice to another.

C Martin Harris, chief information officer for Cleveland Clinic, told the WSJ: "From a patient perspective, they no longer have to remember all that information, write it down on a piece of paper and keep it with them."