Google Health was a personal health information centralization service (sometimes known as personal health record services) by Google introduced in 2008 and announced for withdrawal in 2011.[1] The service allowed Google users to volunteer their health records – either manually or by logging into their accounts at partnered health services providers – into the Google Health system, thereby merging potentially separate health records into one centralized Google Health profile.
Google Health users can enter basic personal information, along with details about any health conditions, medications, allergies, procedures and lab results. Users can opt to share this information with others -- who must also have Google accounts -- and can stop sharing at any time. They can also link to a variety of personal health services, which offer functionality such as personalized comparisons of medications and the direct import of lab test results. Users may further choose to allow those services to access or update their health profiles automatically.
In addition to maintaining a personal health record, users can also link to a variety of health services, such as the Anvita Health Drug Comparison Tool, which offers a personalized comparison of medications based on information in the user's Google Health profile. Some of these services may be enabled to access or update health records automatically. For example, a user can link to Quest Diagnostics and have lab test results imported directly into a Google Health profile.