UsableMarkets

We read in this morning’s news from TechCrunch that Google is making moves to launch Google Health.

From the place-holder page over at Google we read:

With Google Health, you can:

* Build online health profiles that belong to you

* Download medical records from doctors and pharmacies

* Get personalized health guidance and relevant news

* Find qualified doctors and connect to time-saving services

* Share selected information with family or caregivers

To anyone who has read Google’s mission – “Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” – and then asked themselves, “what’s in it for them?” this list may be a bit scary. Perhaps that is why we read: “Build online health profiles that belong to you.”

Regardless, I’m sure privacy mavens will be up in arms. “Isn’t knowing all our searches enough?” one can hear them shouting.

People are sensitive about their health information, and now Google, who has issues with privacy already, is asking us to reveal yet more (extremely sensitive) details about ourselves. While I’m sure Google feels differently, this does seem a bit foolhardy on their part. Surely some people will ignore the privacy issues and sign up for the service regardless. But others will want more reassurance that when they go in to the doctor’s for a cardiogram that they suddenly won’t be overwhelmed with ads for beta blockers.

A further concern must be the readiness of healthcare IT systems to support this type of inter-connectivity. When I spent some time working with Cigna over a year ago, they were still hampered by data systems built in the 1980′s. Upgrading was too costly! I’m sure they’re not the only ones who have these problems. So “Download medical records from doctors and pharmacies” seems a bit like a pipe dream to me, since so much back end work probably needs to be done to make this work.

In addition, while Google’s search algorithm is quite powerful, it remains to be seen whether it can be better than health centered search engines such as Healthline and Organized Wisdom. While it may seem weird to say, in this arena Google may be a step behind, not a step ahead.

And, finally, how could I not discuss this: “Find qualified doctors ….” Finding a doctor online is something that no one does well right now. Part of the problem is that the data to select a doctor appropriate for you is just not available, or doesn’t exist. There is little Google can do to change this.

If anything, though, Google’s presence in this space will serve as a significant signal to others that there is money to be made in this space, and that perhaps a mini-era of innovation is coming in healthcare. The Health 2.0 Blog has been tracking this, but the innovations have been a bit thin for my taste. They have tended to fall in one of two categories: better searching for healthcare information; and better organizing people who suffer from particular diseases via social networking sites.

While these innovations are not insignificant, and can be transformative for some disease sufferers, they are not ultimately, making great strides in bringing greater transparency to the healthcare market.

But now that Google is here, who knows …?

Google in 2100 … looking for more information to organize

As always, thanks for listening.
~alex