Microsoft HealthVault: Online Personal Medical Records

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Microsoft launched HealthVault today and is available for everyone. It is a great idea to have a personal database on one’s medical conditions so it will give a better access to doctors, who can then tailor the medical treatments based on the medical history. The doctors can have access to the records only with the patient’s approval.

I browsed HealthVault, it is still a long way to go but a good start. By recording one’s condition over the years, these records can be accessed either from their own computers or doctors can have access to specific records (after the patient sends them their records) or can see in their handheld device. The user can also record their medications and allergy information in their account.


A sample health record.

Doctors after giving treatment to the patients can send the file to them, who then can update the medical history in their account. In the near future, Patients will have the capacity to permit hospitals, doctors, and clinics to insert information into their HealthVault records.

Early partners of HealthVault include the American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson, the Mayo Clinic, and seven hospitals throughout the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
Unless the Microsoft standardizes the documents with all the doctors and hospitals, there will be compatibility problems with HealthVault. For now, users can enter manually and attach files, but there should be a feature to synchronize the account with external files, so the entries are automatically entered into specific table cells.

Google is currently working on a similar health initiative to record these details online for sharing with doctors and hospitals, but it hasn’t released it yet. Also, Cisco and Intel are working in this area, but no details have been given so far.

It is a great idea if done right with proper standards so both the patients and doctors can access the records and give the best treatment possible. Instead of creating different standards, they should create a universal standard, so everyone follows the same. Microsoft will not allow such standardizations, so one has to be wary about this for now.

Will you prefer such online health vault to record and share with your doctors?