Google Health - Open for business

I've previously posted about Google's plans to enter the health records business. Their service - Google Health - is now live.

Here's the link if you want to have a go: http://www.google.com/health

There are no UK doctors using it yet, but I might enquire with my local GP to find out if they see any value in using it. It's certainly a plausible alternative to Lloyd Georges, as the medical records folders are known.

According to Google's FAQ: "Google Health is a PHR (Personal Health Record), but it is also a bit of a different model. We believe it's not enough to offer a place where you can store, manage, and share your health information. You need to act on your health information to better manage your health needs on a daily basis." So it's Christmas come early for hypochondriacs - you can find all the diseases you might suffer from, read up on the symptoms and add them to your profile. Fortunately I don't have "short fingers and toes with mild webbing" so I'm not suffering from Aarskog Syndrome.

And in the meantime, the National Health Service Programme For IT is still chugging away, with the current final cost somewhere north of £12 billion pounds.

For a comparison of progress in the Public sector, have a look at this letter from Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director

13 May 2008
To: NHS Chief Executives, NHS Medical Directors

I would like to draw your attention to the NHS Number Programme that is being reinvigorated this week. This refreshed programme of work builds upon the previous work on NHS Number by providing support, guidance and assistance to healthcare organisations in achieving complete adoption of the NHS number as defined in the NHS Operating Framework 2008/9. I will be acting as SRO for this programme as I believe it is fundamental to improving patient safety across the health service. Getting to grips with the use of the NHS number will:

minimise the clinical risks caused through misallocation of patient information;
resolve some of the barriers to safely sharing information across healthcare settings; and
assist with long term follow up processes and Clinical Audit.

Recent reports to the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) about incidents arising from reliance on local hospital numbering systems make clear that this can create a real danger to patient safety, and in some cases can cause serious harm or even death. Between November 2003 and the end of March 2008 the NPSA received almost 1600 reports of incidents resulting from confusion and errors about patients' identifying numbers. Many of these involved duplication in local numbering systems – for example, two patients having the same number, or one patient having more than one number.

Yes, that's right. Google have rolled out a complete web-based system for management of Personal Health Care records - free at the point of use - and the NHS are still trying to get everyone to use the same unique reference number to refer to a patient.