Google Joins Medco for Personal Prescription Records Plan

Google Health reportedly is working with Medco Health Solutions to realize the government’s objective of delivering electronic health records for all Americans by 2014. This agreement allows Medco’s more than 60 million members to construct their own online personal health records.

 

Medical errors are said to kill people all the time, even in the developed countries. One reason for such errors is said to be improper maintenance of Personal Health Records. In addition to helping physicians manage chronic conditions, a well-maintained pharmacy history is also very important for safety purposes. The effectiveness of a treatment can now be measured accurately with well maintained health records.

 

To share their information with physicians or other health care providers, members who already have or want to create a Google (News - Alert) Health profile should authorize Medco to transfer their prescription information. Serious medication hazards, especially in an emergency situation, can be prevented when physicians and health care providers have easy access to a member’s pharmacy information.

 

“Getting access to a comprehensive list of medications is important for improved patient safety and reducing medical errors,” said Sameer Samat, product director at Google Health. “Working with Medco, one of the nation’s leading pharmacy benefit managers, empowers our users to get electronic copies of their complete medication history, including all prescriptions filled at their local drugs store or through their mail-order benefit.”

 

Google Health is free, and users will be alerted to any potential drug interactions with other medications, diseases or allergies and they can update prescription history with a few clicks.

 

Recently, Google was rumored to be in talks to buy the Internet start-up Twitter, according to a Reuters (News - Alert) report, though some IT insiders disagree. It is expected that Google would pay for Twitter in cash or stock or a combination of the two. Based in San Francisco, Twitter has enjoyed a significant surge in population since its launch onto the mainstream three years ago.