Google Health PHR Gets a Facelift and Adds Some New Features–Augmentation for the Consumers

I can say this was needed as things have progressed in the last couple of years since Google Health was introduced. We now see some consumer devices that can now connect and make it easier for one to get the data in place.

Cardio Trainer and Fitbit were named as 2 new devices that connect. Be sure and read all privacy disclosures on devices though as 3rd party companies do have an effect here on who you grant access to your data. If you have received a device as part of an employer wellness program, ask questions as to who gets your data and where it goes.

Fitbit Wireless Device Monitors your Daily Activity and Movements Released

If you are doing this on your own and connect to Google Health then you are in control. You can always find a link to Google Health on the Medical Quack under the Personal Health Records section. In addition, the Medical Quack has a section with over 300 posts on personal health records you might want to check out and there’s a permanent link at the top of the page, or you can simply use the Google search boxes (#2 is fast) and find all kinds of relative information here as there’s over 2 years of posts.

I do have to admit it has been a few months since I have logged in to my account so here’s a brief screenshot of the new portal and how it looks. On the Fitbit integration you can read what others think here from the West Wireless Institute.

CareFusion, Cisco and Medtronic to Collaborate With West Wireless Health Institute on Technology – Additional Grants Awarded From Philanthropists Gary and Mary West

Google Health has added a section to where you can list an insurance company now too. Here’s a couple past posts that may be of interest too. If you want to automate getting your labs imported, you can do that.

Quest Diagnostics and Google Empower Patients and Physicians to Share Diagnostic Test Results Online

The link below gives a summary of some of the other options available.

Google Health Online Services – Connections Beyond Medications – Personal Health Records

Back to my favorite subject in healthcare, bar coding with Microsoft Tags too so you can use a bar code to import your data too so get your digital token. If you read here often enough I have several posts with this same technology becoming an avenue for the FDA, and drug and device companies to use for FDA recalls.

Digital Health Tokens – Connect Google Health to HealthJibe – RAZCODE With Microsoft Tags

The video at the link above will show you how to connect your Google Health account and have the ability to add information to your Google Health account simply by snapping the code with your cell phone.

Anyway I hope I covered some areas with Google Health that you may not see in other posts here and show where all of this is headed with augmentation to make things easier for the consumer all the way around. You can put the bar code reader on your phone and play around at the grocery store with some Wheaties and Cheerios to see how this works, it’s very cool and almost easier than making a phone call! BD

Via a new dashboard, Google Health will now organize all of your health and wellness (i.e. fitness) information in one place. The new platform will give provide graphs on your progress with weight loss goals, and you’ll be able to create custom trackers for wellness issues like dietary habits, daily sleep, frequency of exercise, pregnancy or even how many cups of coffee you drink a day.

Of course, one the keys to the overall success of Google Health are partnerships with insurance companies and hospitals to make data more available to consumers. As of last Fall, Google Health still needed to sign up hundreds of insurers in the U.S. Today, Google is announcing relationships with the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Sharp HealthCare. Last year, Google announced a partnership with CVS to import prescription data into the platform.