Google Health: Why Should You Know About It?

By now you should be aware of Google Health. If not check out the this link and read a bit about it.

According to Google Health:
“Google Health allows you to store and manage all of your health information in one central place. And it's completely free. All you need to get started is a Google username and password.

Google believes that you own your medical records and should have easy access to them. The way we see it, it's your information; why shouldn't you control it?
    * Keep your doctors up-to-date
    * Stop filling out the same paperwork every time you see a new doctor
    * Avoid getting the same lab tests done over and over again because your doctor cannot get copies of your latest results
    * Don't lose your medical records because of a move, change in jobs or health insurance
    * Share your health information securely with a family member, caregiver, or doctor
With Google Health, you manage your health information, and you can access it anywhere, at any time.”

So why am I pointing this out to you?

Well, I saw an interesting article on CNET the other day about some new partners to Google Health.

Google recently posted a blog updating their plans for Google Health and announcing some new partners.

And some of the ACCP team recently attended the HIMSS meeting in Atlanta, where Google was an exhibitor.

It’s clear that Google is gaining recognition as a player in the medical information field. As a physician here’s why you should be aware of Google Health:

1.Google Health claims it can help you manage patients.
Now, this has to be taken with a grain of salt, because of course it's Google's own marketing content. Since I'm not a physician, you'll have to make the decision about how useful it might be for you or your patients.

Google Health has some user stories, which include a video by a physician who is using Google Health to better manage her patients. There’s a video interview with her here and here’s a snippet of their piece:

How she uses Google Health
A gynecologist who has been in private practice for over 20 years, Dr. Taylor uses Google Health to send lab results to her patients securely via a partnership Google has with Quest Diagnostics. Dr. Taylor has over 60% of her patients using Google Health. She has even set up a laptop in her waiting room and encourages her patients to sign up for Google Health to get their lab results online.
"With Google Health, patients can get their lab results really quickly, they do not have to wait for a month to get a paper copy in the mail. They can review the lab result and they have a little note from me and they know I have tried to do something to help them. It's very proactive, it allows them to take greater control over their health."
Google Health also helps her patients who travel for their jobs or who have to leave the delivery area, "They can take their medical record with them when they are encountering a new doctor. Can you imagine how empowering that is...it's much more forthcoming, the person is engaged, they brought their own labs, they know what they are, and they can move ahead on the issues."

How its helping...
As a solo practitioner with a few office staff, Dr. Tayor needs to have maximum efficiency to run her office. Using the Quest Diagnostics and Google Health connection, it allows her to push her patient's lab results securely to their Google Health Account once she has reviewed them.
"If you need to tell someone about their test results, you often have to send them a letter and usually they experience that as a pretty cold event. Receiving a lab result inside Google Health is an improvement in that it's a personal experience for the patient. Using these types of online tools lets me get a lot more work done in a shorter amount of time."

She makes some good points that probably resonate with a lot of physicians. I'd be interested to know how many of you might be leveraging Google Health in your practice.

2. Physician Searching: How Visible Are YOU?
Google Health has a physician search tool to help patients find a doctor. Would you like to know if you’re on that list, and where you fall on the list when searched for? Sign up for Google Health and try it. And if you don't show up, you need to talk to someone about search engine optimization.

3. Physician Reviews and Rankings.
The Google Health system also links to reviews about you by patients, thanks to HealthGrades and RateMDs.com. Are you interested in knowing what your patients are saying about you, and what their reviews are saying? If not, you should be. When I signed up for Google Health I did a search for one of my docs, found him immediately, and was able to read all the reviews written about him. There were some nice ones, but there was also one detailing how his office staff were talking negatively about someone in a very unprofessional manner, loud enough for them to be heard by the patients in the waiting room. Wouldn’t you want to know about this if it was happening in your office? And wouldn’t you want to know if this review was posted on the internet for anyone to see who Googles your name?

4. Partnerships.
Is your organization, or are organizations you partner with partnering with Google Health? If not, they might be soon.
Here’s a partial list of Google Health Partners. You can read more about them here: 

• Allscripts
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
• The Cleveland Clinic
• CVS Caremark
• HealthGrades
• Kmart Pharmacy
• Longs Drugs
• Medco Health Solutions
• Quest Diagnostics
• And many more

The bottom line is that Google is providing a toolset to patients that should be of interest to physicians. It provides opportunities for better care, sharing of crucial information, avoidance of drug interactions, and sharing of information about doctors and their practice habits. They are partnering with some large organizations and with the push to EHRs the desire for patients to manage this information will only grow.

Your knowledge of this may help you with your practice and your interaction with patients, empower them to take better control over their healthcare, and help you manage your and your staff’s time with them more efficiently.


 

About the Author

Stephen Welch

Senior Vice President, Communications
Executive Editor, CHEST

This blog, "It Ain't Rocket Surgery" is intended to help busy health-care professionals find useful online and mobile resources that will enhance their self-education and professional research efforts, or point out important topics of discussion related to online information and content. The blog's title is a Yogi Berra style mash-up of two common phrases, "it ain't brain surgery" and "it ain't rocket science". I hope it will be casual, fun, insightful, and -- most of all -- educational.

You can follow me on Twitter. 

I currently serve ACCP as the Senior Vice President of Communications, as well as the Executive Editor of CHEST, the ACCP’s flagship journal. During my 15 years here, ACCP has focused on growing and developing the editorial, technological, and business aspects of the College. We are constantly striving to make the journal and other ACCP educational content as accessible and useful to clinicians as possible.

When not at work, I like to spend time scuba diving with sharks, collecting original comic book artwork, exploring the digital world, and searching for good BBQ.

Your feedback about the blog is always appreciated. So are tips on good BBQ joints.