Several years ago Google Health was developing a personal health record. It failed to attract much interest due to consumer apathy and lack of interoperability with electronic medical records and an inability to download information from the clinic EMR.
Several years ago Google Health was developing a personal health record. It failed to attract much interest due to consumer apathy and lack of interoperability with electronic medical records and an inability to download information from the clinic EMR.
About the same time, Microsoft developed Microsoft Health Vault. It has languished in a torpor until now. Microsoft has entered the mhealth zone, with ‘Surface”, “Windows Phone” and Windows 8 Microsoft. These are all based upon Windows 8 GUI, which features large icons, a simple main menu and touch screen functionality.
The early edition of Microsoft Health Vault was tied to the desktop or laptop until very recently.
Microsoft has correctly read the marketplace, albeit very late. They finally came to the table with Windows 8RT, and Windows 8 Professional as well as a well designed tablet, Surface.
Microsoft also recognized the exit from desktop and fixed locations. The transition to mobile should empower and engage patients to get their healthcare from where they are, at work, in the car, or even outside.
Health Vault in the past several years has attracted many to the platform, laboratories, pharmacies, health and wellness, remote monitoring and more.
What can you do with HealthVault?
Microsoft HealthVault is a free web-based platform that enables patients to collect, store, and share their health information, without charge.
Prepare for an emergency
Use HealthVault to make your most important health info available
Browse the App Directory
Browse the Device Directory
Pulmonary Flo-meter Pulse Oximeter
Examples:
There are now several hundred mobile and remote sensing devices which interface directly with Microsoft’s Health Vault. There is easy access to information and the ability to purchase apps and devices. All of this is designed to be patient-centric and user friendly, HIPAA compliant and requires authentication for secure transmission of data.
Microsoft Health Vault SDK provides a software developers toolkit for developing applications.
HealthVault-connected apps are websites, computer software, and mobile apps that can help you get more out of—and put more into—HealthVault.
You can choose apps to help you stay motivated, analyze trends, and receive education and recommendations to keep you at your best. And it is designed for the rapidly growing niche of mobile applications, available almost anywhere.
It is a welcome addition to the PHR market.
The most interesting part is the list of devices for remote monitoring and health and wellness .
Microsoft even has social media engagement for many of their products.
Empowering Patients
Health Vault in Action
If you’re like most people you just don’t want to sit there and enter your health records into a personal health records..Well, now there is a cure for that as well. Unival PHR is a service for obtaining your records from wherever they may be.
yourPHR, part of the yourHealth suite of services, offers three solutions for getting your medical information into HealthVault. Choose one or all of the following:
- Full data conversion of your medical records by a trained, experienced nurse abstractor
- Direct import of organized, scanned documents
- An online interface to complete specific aspects of your personal health record such as demographics, insurance information, etc.