Google

 Health  and  Microso2  HealthVault  Launch  

Individual  Assignment  

Names  of  the  contributors:  Enrique  Mesones    

Q.1  Explore  the  Google  Health  and  Microso2  HealthVault  Launch  case  
from  the  user  /  consumer  side  and  list  the  issues  that  contributed  to  
the  failure  of  the  two  ventures.  

•  Both  ventures  were  Personal  Health  Record  services  trying  to  

organize  all  health  care  informaMon  into  one  place.  Both  services  
were  free  to  use  for  consumers.  The  informaMon  shared  with  
health  service  providers  (doctors,  clinics  or  pharmacies)  was  
controlled  by  the  individual.  Both  were  based  on  the  idea  that  with  
more  and  beRer  informaMon,  people  can  make  smarter  choices,  
whether  in  regard  to  managing  personal  health  and  wellness,  or  
saving  money  and  conserving  energy  at  home.  
 
•  Both  ventures  dealt  with  the  issues  of  public  percep*on  and  trust.  
Considering  the  sensiMvity  of  health  data,  consumer’s  trust  in  both  
GH  and  MHV’s  ability  to  keep  their  personal  data  secure  and  
private  was  vital.    
 
 
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•  Consumers  did  not  hold  Google  and  Microso2  in  a  high  opinion  in  
this  regard.  The  fact  that  Google  is  primarily  and  adverMsing  
company  that  benefits  financially  from  collecMng  increasingly  
personal  informaMon  probably  did  not  help.  However,  Google  
Health  contained  no  adver*sing.  For  Microso2  the  business  model  
depended  on  one  thing:  Targeted  Search/adverMsing.  

•  HIPAA  compliance  was  an  issue  for  Google.  According  to  its  Terms  
of  Service,  GH  was  not  considered  a  “covered  enMty”,  thus  HIPAA  
privacy  laws  did  not  apply  to  it.    

•  MHV  appeared  like  the  perfect  spot  to  build  a  centralize  health  and  
fitness  tracking  pla\orm  on  top  of,  but  unfortunately  none  of  
Microso2’s  other  health  &  fitness  apps  synced  data  to  it  (though  
Fitbit  did).  ID  and  logging  in  issues  including  unable  access  records  
from  Facebook  sign-­‐in  contributed  to  the  failure.    
 
 
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Source:  hRps://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/google-­‐strategy-­‐healthcare/  
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Q.2  Explore  the  Google  Health  and  Microso2  HealthVault  Launch  case  
from  the  partner  /  health  organizaMons'  side  and  list  the  issues  that  
contributed  to  the  failure  of  the  two  ventures.  

•  Both  ventures  were  trying  to  help  health  providers  and  insMtuMons  
pull  together  important  data,  whether  it’s  labs,  medical  records  or  
X-­‐ray  imaging.  

•  One  of  the  biggest  challenges  in  healthcare  is  that  data  is  heavily  
siloed  and  there’s  very  liRle  interoperability  between  systems.  It  
can  be  difficult  to  integrate  data  across  differing  EMRs  even  within  
the  same  hospital,  not  to  menMon  data  across  mobile  apps,  
connected  devices,  and  other  health-­‐tracking  products.  All  the  
informaMon  is  currently  scaRered  throughout  the  various  hospitals  
and  clinics  where  paMents  receive  care,  and  is  a  huge  pain  for  
doctors,  nurses  and  paMents  to  access.    

•  They  abandoned  the  projects  because  of  the  lack  of  widespread  
adopMon.  PaMents  did  not  upload  their  personal  health  data  
massively  and  health  providers  and  insMtuMons  were  affected  by  it.  5      
Q.3  Explore  the  Google  Health  and  Microso2  HealthVault  Launch  case  
from  the  societal  side  and  list  the  issues  that  contributed  to  the  failure  
of  the  two  ventures.  

•  Medical  informaMon  is  currently  scaRered  and  that  leads  to  all  
sorts  of  duplicate  tests  and  procedures,  which  is  expensive.  And  it  
can  create  dangerous  informaMon  gaps,  so  I  see  the  impact  that  
availability  of  data  can  have  in  medicine  and  in  society  as  a  whole.  
Geing  data  to  paMents,  caregivers  and  providers  is  key.    

•  Another  issue  that  contributed  to  the  failure  of  both  ventures  is  
the  fact  that  neither  GH  nor  MHV  offered  Tele-­‐Health  services  that  
can  sync  the  data  shared  during  Tele-­‐Health  consultaMons  with  the  
online  health  records.  I  personally  believe  that  Real  Time  
CommunicaMons  helps  health  providers  serve  their  paMents  and  
consumers  more  effecMvely.  Virtual  Medicine,  Virtual  Medical  
Centers,  HIPAA  compliant,  with  built-­‐in  AI  and  IoT  connected  for  
Tele-­‐Hearth,  Tele-­‐Ecography  and  more  ..  Monitoring  24/7.      

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www.emeritus.org