A review of Google Health...
I've always had the habit of recording what kinds of medication I've taken for any particular ailment of mine, but didn't really have any organised way of doing it. Just emailed myself the details and filed it in an appropriate label in Gmail.
Then I came across this neat little service from Google, called Health. Now I'm not usually the guy who reviews this kind of stuff, which I would better leave to the experts like Rajbir's Techiez Realm or Pallab awesome tech blog, but I just found Google health to be the answer to all my problems, well at least those of filing my health related data.
Speaking of which, my latest problem is Tendonitis of the shoulder. Injured the tendons while lifting extremely heavy weights (even I was surprised) two months ago, and now it got worse after trashing around at San Joao two weeks back. Currently I cannot lift my left arm more than 50 degrees from the ground after which I get some severe pain. But back to Google health...
As you might be able to see, its got provisions for saving your conditions, medications, vaccines and all that. Of course, like all internet services the stupid americans can get a lot more out of it by linking to some of their hospitals, searching for doctors and all that. However, even without all that it is pretty neat. And the whole thing seems very secure. For instance, there is no "remember me" option, you have to login every time. Although I should warn you about many people being skeptical about Google's privacy policy so you better read that if your flu is a very private matter.
One thing that took me by surprise was when it told me that a drug I was taking was conflicting with another one and I should consult my doc immediately. Fortunately I had figured it out already and taken only one of them. But then again, I'm smarter than most people so you can expect this feature, and all the others, will be helpful for the vast majority of you, my readers.
Digg it if you will…
Then I came across this neat little service from Google, called Health. Now I'm not usually the guy who reviews this kind of stuff, which I would better leave to the experts like Rajbir's Techiez Realm or Pallab awesome tech blog, but I just found Google health to be the answer to all my problems, well at least those of filing my health related data.
Speaking of which, my latest problem is Tendonitis of the shoulder. Injured the tendons while lifting extremely heavy weights (even I was surprised) two months ago, and now it got worse after trashing around at San Joao two weeks back. Currently I cannot lift my left arm more than 50 degrees from the ground after which I get some severe pain. But back to Google health...
As you might be able to see, its got provisions for saving your conditions, medications, vaccines and all that. Of course, like all internet services the stupid americans can get a lot more out of it by linking to some of their hospitals, searching for doctors and all that. However, even without all that it is pretty neat. And the whole thing seems very secure. For instance, there is no "remember me" option, you have to login every time. Although I should warn you about many people being skeptical about Google's privacy policy so you better read that if your flu is a very private matter.
One thing that took me by surprise was when it told me that a drug I was taking was conflicting with another one and I should consult my doc immediately. Fortunately I had figured it out already and taken only one of them. But then again, I'm smarter than most people so you can expect this feature, and all the others, will be helpful for the vast majority of you, my readers.
Digg it if you will…
Labels: computers
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
11 Comments:
Good post, but it would have been good it it would have been bit longer, and a simple walk through so we also can use it.
Can you tell what features are missing for International Users?
Wow! I didn't even know about this. Thanks man! The medication conflicting thing is great! I've a li'l bit knowledge about salts of medicines but still this thing is simply awesome. Here I come, Google Health :)
Thanks a lot & Get well soon!
Visitors who liked it, please digg this review here:
http://digg.com/software/A_review_of_Google_Health
Nice review. I read something about this in the newspaper, but that was not clear. This seems very useful.
As far as Hospital / Doc search, it is US based I guess. May be in the future, they will make it Indian too.
Anyway, nice info, thanks for the details and explanation.
@gaurish: There's not much to explain in a tutorial for Google health. All the stuff even a kid can figure out. Besides, I haven't used it for long to know much about it.
@rajbir: thanks for the digg! Added to the main post :)
@din: So you still visit around these parts even after the porn jokes eh!
The main concern with google health is about privacy.
You should be careful of giving information about your diseases to a private company!
However there are alternative services. For example Keyose.com that provides similar services as google, also for free but with a BIG DIFFERENCE: they do not ask you any personal identification data. So it is a totally anonymous personal health record.
You can track your blood pressure, diabetes, body mass index or even upload images and documents to your profile in keyose.
I found it a really useful alternative to google health.
Reminds me of this joke:
One day Steve complained to his friend, "My elbow really hurts, I guess I should see a doctor."
His friend offered, "Don't do that. There's a computer at the drug store that can diagnose anything quicker an cheaper than a doctor. Simply put in a sample of your urine and the computer will diagnose your problem and tell you what you can do about it. It only costs $10."
Steve figured he had nothing to lose, so he filled a jar with a urine sample and went to the drug store. Finding the computer, he poured in the sample and deposited the $10. The computer started making some noise and various lights started flashing. After a brief pause out popped a small slip of paper on which was printed: You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water. Avoid heavy lifting. It will be better in two weeks.
Late that evening while thinking how amazing this new technology was and how it would change medical science forever, he began to wonder if this machine could be fooled. He decided to give it a try. He mixed together some tap water, a stool sample from his dog and urine samples from his wife and daughter. To top it off, he masturbated into the concoction.
He went back to the drug store, located the machine, poured in the sample and deposited the $10. The computer again made the usual noise and printed out the following message:
Your tap water is too hard. Get a water softener. Your dog has worms. Get him vitamins. Your daughter is using cocaine. Put her in a rehabilitation clinic. Your wife is pregnant with twin girls. They aren't yours. Get a lawyer. And if you don't stop jerking off, your tennis elbow will never get better.
-----
This day is not far off :D
Never heard of this Google Health before. Its not even in the drop down list that one gets. Thanks for letting us know about this.
@manan: That is some good reading man. Think of how much we can learn from that story!
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Thanks for the info! Nice service this google health.
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