Chris Gilmer , Thursday, October 4th, 2007

Microsoft has launched HealthVault, a website that lets users create and control their health records online. This project has been underway at Microsoft for over two years, and many meetings with partners in the hospital, disease prevention and health care companies to get it off the ground.

The free health service have such giant corporate partners as Johnson & Johnson, American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic. In taking a cue from Microsoft’s Windows strategy, they are urging other companies to build upon the new HealthVault technology.

The main consumer health offerings from Microsoft’s HealthVault include personal health records, with internet search tailored to health queries. As for securing personal health records, Microsoft has said that all personal health information will be stored in secure encrypted databases with privacy controls in place. Just as online banking was iffy at first, Microsoft is aiming to make online health records information the norm. Although patients might love to keep track of their own information, we wonder how doctors and health care professionals feel about all this?