Google Health

Google, who by most measures, does a fantastic job at most things, rolled out Google Health yesterday. In their newest beta web app, you can add all sorts of personal health information for future reference.

Somewhere, someone thought this was a good idea, and I can't understand how. I mean, in a way it makes some sense, people are turning over every imaginable type of information to Google (personal journals, email correspondence, banking information, business transactions, etc.) absolutely free and without reservation already. I suppose this happens for two reasons. 1. Google is good at organizing piles of information. 2. People trust Google.

Now, I'm not as big of a privacy nut as a lot of people out there, and I think if someone wants to know something about you, they can get to it eventually regardless of the caution you take.

Currently, though, if someone lets out some information about you (i.e. an insurer or healthcare provider) there's a means of recourse. Users of Google health have waived all of that when choosing to use the service.

The positive part of this, is that I no longer have to wait for the veterinarian.google.com beta to keep an accurate record of my dog's health. The downside would be if I am ever denied healthcare coverage in the future because my race is "Boxer Mix" and I lapsed on my rabies vaccinations.