A small peek behind Google’s healthcare curtain
by Tony Chen
We’ve been anxiously watching Google and Microsoft developments into the healthcare arena. Just a few weeks ago, both Vince and I reported on Microsoft’s new HealthVault product. Fred also had a nice post on Google’s PHR challenge.
Yesterday, Google’s new health chief, Marisa Mayer gave us a few more hints on where Google is heading:
“If you look at health care, there’s already a huge user need, people are already using Google more than any other tool on the Web to find health information… And the health care industry generates a huge amount of information every year. It’s a natural core competency for us, to understand how to organize all that data”
Mayer also confirmed that they are testing a prototype platform that includes: personal medical records, health care-related search features, diet and exercise regimens, a localized “find a doctor” application.
A few observations:
- Interesting that Google has their search guru leading this healthcare vertical (versus a healthcare person, tech/engineer person, or a product management person).
- Google’s strategy seems to be quite similar to Microsoft (or maybe it’s vice versa). Scratch the two biggest consumer healthcare itches - proactive health management & proactive health info search. However, Google acknowledged and addressed physicians also. Yes, consumer-driven healthcare will be big, but it will play out differently in healthcare. Google realizes it has to meet the needs of two sets of customers: consumers and physicians. I think Microsoft gets this, too, though their Azyzzi efforts seem to be untied to Health Vault.
- I’m still uncomfortable with the idea of having Google (or Microsoft) managing/storing my health records, anyone else feel the same way?
