Google Inc. will begin storing the medical records of 1,500 to 10,000 patients as to tests a long-awaited health service, media reported Friday.
The patients are from the Cleveland Clinic who volunteer to an electronic transfer of their personal health records so they can be retrieved through Google's new service, which won't be open to the general public.
Each health profile, including information about prescriptions, allergies and medical histories, will be protected by a password that's also required to use other Google services such as e-mail and personalized search tools.
Google views its expansion into health records management as a logical extension because its search engine already processes millions of requests from people trying to find about more information about an injury, illness or recommended treatment.
"We believe patients should be able to easily access and manage their own health information," said Marissa Mayer, the Google executive overseeing the health project.
The Cleveland Clinic decided to work with Google "to create a more efficient and effective national health care system," said C. Martin Harris, the medical center's chief information officer.
The Mountain View-based company hasn't specified a timetable for unveiling the health service, which has been the source of much speculation for the past two years.
It's not clear how Google intends to make money from its health service.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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