Microsoft Launches Health Portal
Microsoft® (NASDAQ: MSFT) beat the federal government and several competitors in launching a new online health portal designed to make the process of storing and sharing medical records easier.
Microsoft’s new HealthVault site allows health care consumers to download lab reports, x-rays, pharmacy records and other digital data and then stores the encrypted information free of charge (the portal is supported by advertising revenue). The information is securely maintained in a personal account until the patient chooses to share it with a medical provider, caregiver, family member or anybody else.
Although banking and retail sectors have been using electronic records for almost a decade, doctors and hospitals have been hesitant to adopt the technology, especially if they don’t have a team of information technology professionals on staff. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 80 percent of U.S. hospitals still use paper medical records which cost billions of dollars each year to manage.
Several other countries have already implemented national systems for exchanging medical information, including Germany where patients carry all their medical records on a computer chip.
Even with HealthVault and other similar health services up and running, some physicians remain doubtful the electronic health records initiative will catch on any time soon. Other leaders in the technology and health sectors feel differently. As one stated,
“I think what Microsoft is doing is great. I’ve been saying for several years that the health-care industry needs to change and that the key drivers will be technology and consumerism.”
Steve Case
Chairman & CEO, Revolution Health
Source: The Washington Post
Related Links: American Health Information Management Association; Australian Health Information Technology; Children’s Hospital Boston; ZDNet.co.uk; The New York Times
Related Podcast: Governor proposed funding for updating medical records from Wisconsin Radio Network
Tags: Bill Gates; health informatics
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