Cultures of The Online World

Google Health not HIPAA Compliant

In my regular day I am constantly viewing various RSS feeds using Google's iGoolge page. So the irony of this is pretty exquisite.

One of the main feeds I troll on a regular basis is Slashdot, and just now I found a very interesting and relevant post regarding Google Health, which has been featured on this blog now for a few weeks. LINK to the original Slashdot article.

"Security researcher Robert 'RSnake' Hansen discusses numerous concerns with Google's new Google Health application, which aims to integrate user's medical records online. We discussed Google Health's opening to the public earlier this week. RSnake mentions that Google has found a loophole allowing them to provide this service without having to follow HIPAA regulations, which, combined with Google's track record of having numerous flaws leading to private information disclosure, draws serious concern.

The referring site is ha.ckers.org in which they bring attention to the fact that Google has left itself a legal out from the industry standard HIPAA protocol, which does not bode well for Google fanboys, like myself. I am hoping that this new scrutiny via the huge readership of the Slashdot will  focus attention to this very important  issue, if not stopping people from blindly putting up their medical information, at least  causing Google to re-examine it's position.

"Security researcher Robert 'RSnake' Hansen discusses numerous concerns with Google's new Google Health application, which aims to integrate user's medical records online. We discussed Google Health's opening to the public earlier this week. RSnake mentions that Google has found a loophole allowing them to provide this service without having to follow HIPAA regulations, which, combined with Google's track record of having numerous flaws leading to private information disclosure, draws serious concern.

LINK to the post on ha.ckers

Google Health Opens !

Google Health opened up to the public today after several months of private beta testing. The long-anticipated health records project now allows Google users to manage their doctor records, prescriptions, and test results, as well as find out information about drug interactions and search for new doctors. All you need is a Gmail account and a healthy dose of trust to get started with Google Health, although some are still skeptical about the terms of service.

Signing into the service is extremely simple. If you already have an account with Google (already required in order to use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and the like), then you have already skipped a major step. This is also one of Google Health's possible downfalls, however, as it is now exceedingly easy for a hacker to discover someone's universal Google login (which, by the way, has no minimum requirement for secure passwords) and not just access their e-mail but their health records too.

Still, logging in and using the site is easy—"Google easy," one might say. Using easy-to-find links on the landing page or in the left-hand column, users can add their own personal information (such as date of birth, height, and weight), list out their existing medications and allergies, and, most importantly, import their medical records.  LINK to Ars Technica article

Hows does Telehealth differ from Telemedicine

'Telehealth' is an expansion of the functionality Telemedicine and unlike Telemedicine (which focuses on the curative aspect) it encompasses Preventive, Promotive AND curative aspects. originally used to describe administrative or educational functions related to telemedicine today the stress is on practising TeleHealth and not Telemedicine, given that the technology , infrastructure and manware requirements are literally the same. Now that physicians use email to communicate with patients, and drug prescriptions and other health services are being offered on the Web, 'telehealth' is generally used as an umbrella term to describe all the possible variations of healthcare services using telecommunications.

What is Telehealth ?

Telehealth is the delivery of health related services and information via telecommunications technologies. It may be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone, or as sophisticated as using satellite technology to broadcast a consultation between providers at facilities in two countries, using videoconferencing equipment or robotic technology.