Microsoft moves into personal health records with HealthVault
Microsoft’s new, personal health record initiative is only available in the US. But it provides some intriguing pointers for the future of personal health information and search.
Microsoft has launched a major personal health record initiative in the US, based on a secure website that allows users to collect, store and share health information.
The HealthVault portal has an “account” area in which users can store medical histories, immunisations and other medical details and opt to share them with a wide range of organisations and other websites.
It also has a “connection centre” that allows users to input data from monitoring devices, such as glucose or cholesterol levels. A dedicated health search engine enables easy organisation and navigation of users’ health data and of articles from across the Web.
A rapidly developing area
Microsoft says there are no current plans for a UK or European launch. But HealthVault is still significant, because it shows that IT and electronics companies believe there is a demand for more consumer health information and services, and that these could be a major use for web technologies in the future.
Its entry into the fast emerging PHR area is also likely to up the ante for comparable developments in the UK. HealthSpace, the component of the NHS IT programme that allows patients to store web searches, make Choose and Book appointments, and view their summary care record (in early adopter areas) has received a new impetus in recent months.
Open to partners
However, where HealthSpace is focused on NHS records and NHS applications, Microsoft plans to develop HealthVault as a hub around which different healthcare organisations will be able to develop compatible applications.
At the launch last week, it was able to announce almost 40 partnerships with organisations ranging from healthcare providers and health management organisations to device manufacturers and patient advocacy organisations that offer off-the-shelf, plug-and-play applications to help manage conditions of various kinds.
The American Heart Association has, for example, developed its Blood Pressure Management Centre to be compatible with HealthVault.
Helping individuals find “the stuff that matters”
HealthVault will allow users to create and control a PHR. Having created a HealthVault record, an individual will be able to decide exactly who can see and use the information on a case-by-case basis.
Microsoft stresses that all data stored in HealthVault will be secure and pledges it won’t mine or sell data. Revenue is to be generated through advertising linked to the HealthVault search engine.
Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft, said at last week’s launch: “The launch of HealthVault makes it possible for people to collect their private health information on their terms and for companies across the health industry to deliver compatible tools and services built on the HealthVault platform.”