Google News, Inside.

The Future of Google Health

Posted at 8:26am EST on 05/01/2009

Despite everything I have written in the past, I have no choice but to openly admit that Google Health is a revolutionary product. It is a “game-changer” for the health industry.

Looking back at everything I’ve written about Google Health, I have always had a hint of skepticism because I really am skeptical at how secure it will be.

In a recent post by Roni Zeiger, M.D., a Google Health Product Manager, he begins with a very direct and forward statement of security. “At Google, we believe that consumers should have convenient and secure access to all their health data so that they can be better informed and be more involved in their care.”

As with anything in life, it’s one thing to say it, but it’s a completely different thing to actually do it. Securing this kind of data is going to be absolutely critical to the success and trust of this product.

As a small sidebar, Google products are fairly well trusted by the majority of web users. Gmail, sure, I’ll store my e-mail there, I trust you; Google Analytics, sure I’ll give you my traffic data; Google AdSense, sure I’ll let you make money from my inventory; Google Search, sure I’ll tell you what I’m searching for and what I am looking to buy. As an overall statement, the vast majority of people trust Google.

Google Health is different.

In my opinion, Google Health is not a product we can just take for granted that we’re going to trust completely, right out of the box. The most important question to ask is, “why not?” Why will people not be as trusting with Google Health as with other products?

The immediate distrust that will be created is because of how close to “home” this product plays in our lives. The “big brother” that has been talked about for the past 10 or 20 years, is finally becoming more and more of a reality. The “big brother” that has been discussed has been talked about in the context that it’s the government doing the watching. In the context of today, Google is that government.

Another sidebar, Google is not the government [...yet]

Putting Google Health in the context of how it plays into our lives, it’s something we should be more careful about.

Let me dive into a story of my life and how my health records have played a role.

I graduated from Azusa Pacific University in 2007, just a couple years ago. I had lived in California my entire life, Los Angeles for the prior 20 years before graduating. I was sick of California. I wanted something new.

I had two job opportunities upon graduation. Work in Irvine, CA or work in New York, NY. I opted for New York and am very thankful I did.

My doctors, my dentist, and everything medical I had was left in California. I did have the need to recall some of those records and do that, I had to fax paper work back and forth between doctors. It was a lot of work for someone that was really busy with a new life.

My dentist, I had to get new x-rays and new dental records. This was expensive, even with the insurance.

Should I have used Google Health to port over my records? Maybe. Maybe not.

The traditional method of medical records is “old school” and looks like it is quickly become a “way of the past.”

Whether we want to believe it or not, Google is quickly becoming more and more integrated into our lives [in today's generation]. My mother will have nothing to do with Google. She has a Gmail account, but she won’t use it. She still uses AOL e-mail. She knows how to use Google, but her knowledge of it is very limited. I’m still teaching her more each day, so it’s a growing process.

Her generation is not likely to become one to adopt a service like Google Health. My generation, would be more likely to adopt it. My generation is prone to being able to access things quickly, easily, and without a lot of effort.

For me, that still comes with a lot of security risks, risks I’m not yet willing to take.

Google Health is still not secure enough for me to feel comfortable to give them my data.