Today, Google and IBM will release a new plan for streaming medical data directly from your body to Google Health. The Google Health service allows for the storage and retrieval of important medical history on the Internet. The new plan between Google and IBM is aimed at providing real-time streaming of the medical data directly from Google enabled Wi-Fi radios in medical devices such as glucose meters, heart monitors, and others.
According to an article by Forbes.com titled “Letting Google Take Your Pulse”, Andy Greenberg wrote: “Hooking up those devices to the Web, IBM argues, will offer a new immediacy and granularity of health monitoring. A user can remotely track the blood pressure readings or glucose levels of a diabetic parent living alone, or stream his or her medical information like weight or heart rate directly to a doctor or physical trainer.”
Streaming Medical Data: The Advantages
Advantages to real-time streaming of medical data are obviously the immediacy in an emergency, and a potential to be proactive with treatment. When the data is acquired and analized sooner, there is clearly a much greater chance of mitigating health concerns. The advantages to patients could mean the difference between life and death. From a business perspective, there is a great potential for savings on the part of patients, insurance companies, and medicare.
Similar technology has been developed and used in Denmark and Canada, and it is now targeted to be used in the United States.
Streaming Medical Data to Google Health: Security Implications
The security implications of streaming medical data via Wi-Fi to Google are an obvious concern for many people. In the article by Forbes.com, it was compared to GM’s OnStar service, but for a patient. Like the commercials you see on television where the operator dispatches an ambulance after receiving an airbag alert, the technology would be sending health data alerts before a problem is too late to control. Personally, I own three GM vehicles with OnStar, and I am not fond of the fact that unnecessary people have access to where I go and what I do. I would feel far more invaded if my medical records were treated the same way.
There will always be a large segment of people reluctant to adopt new technologies, and when medicine is involved, there should be a reasonable level of caution. This is why acts of congress such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) have taken place. I have to imagine that a similar level of scrutiny and details to security are taken into account with the new technology of Wi-Fi streaming of health data. In any case, the the public’s security concerns will likely be a much greater obstacle to the Google Health and IBM efforts than the technology of medical data acquisition.
What do you think?