Google Health & the Cleveland Clinic
Moving your medical records from one physician to another can be cumbersome. Google CEO Eric Schmidt compares this to switching cell phone providers: Switching is a pain-in-the-neck so many people stick with their current provider. Contrast that with ATMs. Any ATM will give you access to your money, regardless of the home bank you use. Why can’t we move medical records as easily (and securely) as ATMs disburse cash?
Google Speaks to Health Care Pros
Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke at the Feb 2008 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference. The 50-minute speach appears below.
From the Video
Here are a few few interesting points from Schmidt’s speech:
- Roughly 67% of people trust the internet for health-related information, while a smaller percentage trust their own physicians.
- People with chronic illnesses tend to share experiences with each other on the Internet.
- The vast majority (94%) of user-shared health information is accurate. Of course, you should still visit a physician because you won’t know if you’re part of the 6% until you do.
Google’s mission is “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” It will be interesting to see that mission applied to health care.