Microsoft Working On Health Information 'Vault' System

josmar52789 wrote with an article from the New York Times, discussing Microsoft's new push into the consumer health care market. The plan is to offer personal health care records online via a system called HealthVault. Numerous big names in the medical field have signed up for the service, including the 'American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson LifeScan, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the Mayo Clinic and MedStar Health'. The ultimate purpose of the service is to provide an online accessible but highly secure service to patients and medical facilities: "The personal information, Microsoft said, will be stored in a secure, encrypted database. Its privacy controls are set entirely by the individual, including what information goes in and who gets to see it. The HealthVault searches are conducted anonymously and will not be linked to any personal information in a HealthVault personal health record. Microsoft does not expect most individuals to type in much of their own health information into the Web-based record. Instead, the company hopes that individuals will give doctors, clinics and hospitals permission to directly send into their HealthVault record information like medicines prescribed or, say, test results showing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. "

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[Anonymous Coward]

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Microsoft's successful formula

[us7892]

Microsoft is starting its long-anticipated drive into the consumer health care market by offering free personal health records on the Web and pursuing a strategy that borrows from the company's successful formula in personal computer software.

I'll bet this sentence is not going to go over too well with the slashdot crowd.

"Blue screen of Death" to have a whole new

[unity100]

meaning, that is.

Lock up

[OK PC]

Well at least the Vault will always lock up...

Google Searches too

[svendsen]

Man if anyone could link Google searches to individuals we would know every person's medical condition.

Google Search: Itchy crotch

NSA: Hey Fred Smith has crabs again...lol

Re:Uh uh.

[Anonymous Coward]

You do? How did my last screening turn out? I can't get hold of a real person to ask.

Re:Let the Stone Throwing Begin!

[blcamp]

Actually, I would have said "Let the CHAIR Throwing Begin!"

Re:"Blue screen of Death" to have a whole new

[Joe the Lesser]

Error: Could not find liver.dll

Next Doctors visit might go something like...

[EvilSpudBoy]

Doctor: I've examined you, and reviewed your MSMedicalHistory(tm) and it looks like you are in fine health, though I see your blood pressure is slightly higher than last time.

Patient: Well, work has been a bit stressful, should I worry?

Doctor: Not at all. It is still good for your age. Have you tried Halo 3?

Patient: huh?

Doctor: Video games are a great stress reliever. If you don't have an Xbox 360 with Halo3, I can put in an order for one for you. Have you had any other problems?

Patient: Sometimes I get a headache from staring at the computer too long.

Doctor: Hold on -- there, I've adjusted your screen resolution and font size on your home and work computers.

Patient: Umm.....

Re:Uh uh.

[jimicus]

is Microsoft going to make it accessible only to Windows Vista machines, thereby forcing the entire medical system and any potential clients to upgrade, followed by years of lock-in?

Not at all. It will be web based, and provided you're running Internet Explorer 8 you're fine.

Oh, didn't we mention? IE 8 will be Vista with SP1 only.

Re:Microsoft's successful formula

[h2_plus_O]

Nobody, not even slashdot users, can deny that.

you must be new here.

Re:Microsoft's successful formula

[iONiUM]

My.. my user id is lower than yours? I'm almost tempted to say "so is my penis".