by Glenn Chapman
The offering raises privacy concerns and draws yet another battle line between Internet search king Google and global software giant Microsoft, which began offering a similar HealthVault service in October.
"It isn't surprising both sides are going after it," Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle told AFP.
Google said it built a secure computer platform separate from its search system to host medical records as part of an emphasis on keeping the health information protected.
"We have put in place the firmest privacy policy we can construct," Google vice president of search product and user experience Marissa Mayer told reporters at the Internet giant's headquarters in Mountain View, California.
"It is our highest level of security."
Privacy advocates however, seek proof that online medical information will be safe from tampering or snooping, possibly from insurance companies or employers out to reduce liabilities by shunning those with health issues.
"It's the Wild West online," said Deborah Peel, a psychiatrist who founded the nonprofit advocacy group PatientPrivacyRights.org. "The risks are massive."
She said Microsoft consulted her group while designing HealthVault and agreed to routine privacy audits, the first of which is to be completed in June.
Google executives said pains were taken to build a system that will protect people's medical records while providing them access from wherever they might want it.
"No Google Health users should expect to find their health information as search results on Google," product manager Roni Zeiger said.
Google Health has links to pharmacies, clinics and diagnostic labs. The service is free and enables people to have electronic copies of information such as prescriptions, lab test results, hospital stays, and medical conditions stored on Google computers.
Users of the service dictate how the information is shared.
"Google, on your behalf, is storing a copy of your records," Zeiger said. "This is a user controlled database that Google is hosting."
Google said it will mine anonymous trend data along the lines of what percentage of people with diabetes using Google Health report getting flu shots.
A "virtual pillbox" will also automatically send alerts to people's mobile telephones, reminding them when it is time to take medicines.
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