back to article Google beefs health record lobby

Why is Google lobbying the US Congress over the webification of the nation's health records? It won't say. But lobbying it is. In its first quarter Congressional lobbying report (PDF), Google has said it lobbied both the House and Senate on "online health-related issues [and] issues related to online personal health records," …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    tit le

    What Google wants is to be deemed "the way forward" for electronic health records and thus have a leg over the competition. Then they can data mine till their little hearts content, but would never stoop so low as to sell your health information. Just rent it out. The data mining results that is....

  2. JC
    Paris Hilton

    There's Always A Motivator

    It wasn't so long ago in real time but a century on the 'net that Google coined the phrase "do no evil". Why would they need to preemptively state such a thing? Does your favorite supermarket have a catchy phrase like "No rotten food we won't screw you like that"? Seems they were formulating a strategy all along and we sheep happily gobbled down whatever they wanted to feed us.

    Mark my words. Google is a bigger problem than MS in the long term. Not just their hidden motivations but as much the precedent they set for everyone else to follow. Information wants to be *free* but there will always be those who put their efforts into ways to use it against you instead of trying to be constructive.

    Thanks but no thanks Google, we already had more than enough special interest money flowing through Washington. Want to keep track and publish something Google? Keep track of that.

    Paris, because despite appearances what you reveal can end up biting you in the ass.

  3. Ian Ferguson
    Happy

    Don't worry, they won't sell your data

    They'll only 'index' it for advertising purposes, a la Gmail.

    Suddenly, all those Viagra adverts will make more sense!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Oh my....

    I can understand that Google are in the position to achive records as they have the infrastructure to do it, and there probably is money to be made. I very much doubt they would data mine the records or do "Evil" things with the records.

    But saying that would you trust your records online for anyone to potentially access... I think not.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Coming soon - Google Medi-Mashup

    Run out of prescription pills?

    Take: Xanaxtupute 400?

    Check out: Google Medi-Mashup!

    Hmmmm....

    It looks like Mrs Smith at No 2 takes them, so does Kim Blert at the Manor....

    Go and ask them for a couple of spare ones to tide you over...

  6. Ian Michael Gumby
    Paris Hilton

    HIPAA is interesting...

    While HIPAA was meant for the medical industry safe guarding your medical data, Google isn't in the business of medicine thus is outside of the law. So we need to modify the law.

    Until then, if any hospital or medical facility transfers your data to Google without your consent, you have a major lawsuit against said facility. Under HIPAA if you see a doctor in the hospital and then have a follow up at his clinic, you need to sign a release. (Same doctor, different facilities.)

    If you don't consent to having your data on Google, under HIPAA you can sue.

    As pointed out ad nauseum, google doesn't have to sell anything to profit from your medical records. Imagine going to a web page that has google ads. Isn't it a funny coincidence that you're an asthma sufferer and you see some adds for asthma medications? ;-)

    They're not evil, they just think that we're dumb.

    Paris because she's made a profession of acting dumb and laughing all the way to the bank.

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