Google Health PHR adds sharing option to service

The system seems to be non-compliant with HIPAA regulations, as these prohibit the use of routine, non encripted, email for communicating health related information. It could work, however, if participants were to communicate using HIPAA compliant on line services such as www.housedoc.us, that is currently used for communication between doctors and patients.

We could achieve a basic EHR/PHR system in the US in a year simply by having Doctors and hospitals hand out EHR Smart Cards of the type used in Europe and elsewhere.

The AMA, which unfortunately is a joke, should lead the way. Unemployed college grads could be at the Providers and input patient data. They'd be paid by the stimulus money to do so. In every case, the patien can say No Thanks to even a Smart Card.

Use a simple common program like Word at the outset so that the patient could take his/her Card with them and all Providers could at least have the person's basic history.

Think Americams will agree to put their most sensitive, private medical data in a cloud operated by google or MS? Think again.

EHR will never happen in the US unless access is controlled by the patient via a smart card--ultra secure and proven.

Google, MS eliminated references ti smart cards that were in early drafts of the stimulus bill. They have convinced Obama, Emanuel et al that that ONLY web EHR with cloud storage is acceptable--and the bill as passed into law mandates that approach.

They also effectively have killed the 300 or so EHR vendors by inserting the provision that requires all "Qualified"/Certified EHR systems to be "interoperable". Can't be done.

We're faing another 10-15 years of having no workable EHR in the US if the only choice Americans are given is web-based. Identity theft is already of financial information is already a huge issue and if medical data is added to what hackers can obtain so easily, it will doom EHR here.