Wow- what a great idea! Robert Langreth of Forbes reports about Microsoft's launch of HealthVault. HealthVault is a website that allows users to upload a cohesive account of their medical history. This is brilliant because, as the report says, "Current recordkeeping is a mishmash of files. Chronic care patients can wind up taking multiple medications prescribed by doctors who may be unaware of one another. Care of critically ill patients gets mismanaged because doctors can't find the right records" (Langreth). The article goes into more detail about the security risks.
Microsoft is the company that everyone loves to hate, but somewhere in the back of my mind I'm always rooting for them. Lately they've been beaten out by the sexy styles of Apple and the trendy nature of their products. I only wish that Microsoft would take their good ideas and produce products that are actually good. Bottom line: I like the idea of HealthVault but I doubt that anyone will trust their personal health information on the web, or more specifically with Microsoft. As a friend of mine who works in security says, "Once a piece of information leaves your hands, your physical grasp on it, you can no longer call it secure."
