Microsoft Corporation and Mayo Clinic have partnered on a new website that focuses on storing personal medical and health information. The Mayo Clinic Health Manager website is powered by Microsoft HealthVault. By storing medical records on the Health Manager website, clients are able to transfer their data to new clinics or hospital specialists.
Some of the data that can be stored includes medical history, hospital visits, and heart rate monitors. Anyone is allowed to sign up for an account and not just Mayo patients. When signing up for the service, the website will ask several questions and make recommendations based on that information.
While many people advocate using services like these as it may be more secure than paper files and reduces medical errors, others have been against the service due to privacy. Deven McGraw, Director of the healthy privacy project of the Center for Democracy and Technology stated that Health Manager is not covered by national laws that specify that health care systems can access and share information without consent.
Google launched a similar partnership with the Cleveland Clinic last year.
[via Associated Press]
this is a great move on Microsoft’s part. As you noted Google reached an agreement with Cleveland Clinic along with CVS pharmacy as part of their Google Health.