Google Health

File:Googlehealthlogo.png

Google Health was the name given to a 2008–2012 version of a service, which allowed Google users to volunteer their health records—either manually or by logging into their accounts at partnered health services providers—into the Google Health system, thereby merging potentially separate health records into one centralized Google Health profile. Volunteered information could include "health conditions, medications, allergies, and lab results".{{cite web|title=About Google Health|url=https://www.google.com/health/html/about/index.html|access-date=May 20, 2008}} Once entered, Google Health used the information to provide the user with a merged health record, information on conditions, and possible interactions between drugs, conditions, and allergies.{{cite web|title=Google Health: Take a Tour|url=https://www.google.com/health/html/tour/|access-date=May 20, 2008}} Google Health's API was based on a subset of the Continuity of Care Record.{{cite web|title=Google Health Data API: CCR Reference|url=http://code.google.com/apis/health/ccrg_reference.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221213557/http://code.google.com/apis/health/ccrg_reference.html|archive-date=February 21, 2012|access-date=July 11, 2008}}

The original Google Health was under development from mid-2006, under ex-chief health strategist Roni Zeiger.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/north-america/google-vet-roni-zeiger-leaves-smart-patients-head-facebooks-growing-health|title=Google vet Roni Zeiger leaves Smart Patients to head up Facebook's growing health efforts|date=May 28, 2019|website=MobiHealthNews|language=en|access-date=January 29, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobihealthnews.com/27476/checking-up-on-dr-google-how-the-search-giant-has-tackled-health-and-wellness|title=Checking up on Dr. Google: How the search giant has tackled health and wellness|date=November 20, 2013|website=MobiHealthNews|language=en|access-date=January 29, 2020}} In 2008, the service underwent a two-month pilot test with 1,600 patients of The Cleveland Clinic. Starting on May 20, 2008, Google Health was released to the general public as a service in beta test stage. On September 15, 2010, Google updated Google Health with a new look and feel.{{cite web| last = Krazit| first = Tom| title = Google tweaks Google Health dashboards| url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20016562-265.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20| access-date = September 15, 2010 }}

On June 24, 2011, Google announced it was retiring Google Health on January 1, 2012; data was available for download through January 1, 2013.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/technology/25health.html?_r=1|url-access=subscription|work=The New York Times|first=Steve|last=Lohr|title=Google Is Closing Its Health Records Service|date=June 24, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/update-on-google-health-and-google.html|title=Official Blog: An update on Google Health and Google PowerMeter|last=Brown|first=Aaron|date=June 24, 2011|publisher=Googleblog.blogspot.com|access-date=June 14, 2013}} The reason Google gave for abandoning the project was the lack of widespread adoption.{{cite web| title = An update on Google Health and Google PowerMeter| url= http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/update-on-google-health-and-google.html| access-date = June 24, 2011}} In 2012, Roni Zeiger left Google.

Google Health in 2018 was the name given to a team working within Google, rather than a service or application, following a similarly named web service in 2008–2012.

In 2018, during a process codenamed "Tuscany," teams across the company combined into the new Google Health group. This included artificial-intelligence research teams Google Brain and DeepMind, as well as health teams from Nest Labs, the connected-home company Google bought in 2014.{{Cite web|last=Langley|first=Blake Dodge, Hugh|title=Google's secretive healthcare business wants to organize the world's health information, but insiders describe how turf wars and trust issues are hamstringing the operation|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/google-health-strategy-identity-alphabet-flux-2020-9|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=Business Insider}}{{Cite web|date=September 30, 2020|title=Google Health's strategy and identity within Alphabet is still in flu…|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/google-health-strategy-identity-alphabet-flux-2020-9|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200930174008/https://www.businessinsider.com/google-health-strategy-identity-alphabet-flux-2020-9|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=archive.is}}

Starting in November 2018, David Feinberg was appointed lead.{{Cite web |last=Pearl M.D. |first=Robert |date=November 10, 2018 |title=Why Did Google Hire Geisinger CEO Dr. David Feinberg? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2018/11/10/google/ |access-date=January 29, 2020 |website=Forbes |language=en}} In 2019, it was announced they wanted more searchable medical records and to "improve the quality of health-focused search results across Google and YouTube".{{Cite web |last=Lakshmanan |first=Ravie |date=November 4, 2019 |title=Google wants to create the ultimate medical record search tool for doctors |url=https://thenextweb.com/google/2019/11/04/google-wants-to-create-the-ultimate-medical-record-search-tool-for-doctors/ |access-date=January 29, 2020 |website=The Next Web |language=en-us}} Google Health also appeared to focus on health-related artificial intelligence research, clinical tools, and partnerships for other healthcare tools and services.{{Cite web |title=Google Health |url=https://health.google/partners/ |access-date=September 10, 2020 |website=health.google}}

Later in 2018, Google reorganized their healthcare efforts, and as a result DeepMind Health became part of Google Health.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/google-new-health-unit-fold-in-deepmind-healthcare-unit-2018-11|title=Google is consolidating DeepMind's healthcare AI business under its new Google Health unit|last=Ghosh|first=Shona|website=Business Insider|access-date=January 30, 2020}} They began a non disclosed project called Project Nightingale, a partnership with Ascension, a large Catholic health care system in the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/779208282/google-health-data-project-under-scrutiny|title=Google Health Data Project Under Scrutiny|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=January 29, 2020}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-s-secret-project-nightingale-gathers-personal-health-data-on-millions-of-americans-11573496790|title=WSJ News Exclusive {{!}} Google's 'Project Nightingale' Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans|last=Copeland|first=Rob|date=November 11, 2019|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=January 30, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}} The project was headed by David Feinberg, hired in November 2018 and his oversight included Google Fit, health-oriented features in Google Search, G Suite for healthcare businesses, AI-based health research offerings, and Alphabet subsidiaries DeepMind Health, Verily, and Calico. At the 2019 HLTH health care conference, Feinberg announced Google Health is working on improvements with the search functions in electronic health records (EHR) and to improve health-related search results across their platforms.

In 2020, there were four areas of focus:

1. Consumer tools : included work on search and maps to surface authoritative information. This group was formally moved out of Google Health and parceled into the Search division and FitBit division in 2021.{{Cite web|title=Google reorganizes health division, shedding 130 employees and dropping consumer health focus: report|url=https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/google-reorganizes-health-division-shedding-130-employees-and-dropping-consumer-health|access-date=July 11, 2021|website=FierceBiotech|date=June 18, 2021 |language=en}}
2. Clinician tools : in partnerships with doctors and clinicians
3. Imaging and diagnostics
4. Research group

In 2021, the imaging, diagnostics and research groups appeared to be consolidated as the Health AI group.

Google Health reportedly struck up deals to work with large health systems such as Ascension and Stanford Medicine, but talks with other major health companies and organizations including CVS Health and the Gates Foundation had "fallen apart along the way".{{Cite web|last=Langley|first=Blake Dodge, Hugh|title=Inside Google Health's struggle to refocus, regain trust, navigate healthcare, and make money|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/google-healths-strategy-and-identity-within-alphabet-2020-9|access-date=October 1, 2020|website=Business Insider}}

In February 2020, Google Health had more than 500 employees.{{Cite web |last=Farr |first=Christina |date=February 11, 2020 |title=Google Health, the company's newest product area, has ballooned to more than 500 employees |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/11/google-health-has-more-than-500-employees.html |access-date=September 10, 2020 |website=CNBC |language=en}} In August 2021, Google reorganized the health projects and teams. Google Health continues to operate today as a "company-wide effort" led by Google's Chief Health Officer, Karen DeSalvo.{{Cite web |title=Google says health projects will continue even as it unwinds dedicated health division |url=https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/google-dissolved-its-unified-health-division-what-s-next-for-its-health-tech-strategy |access-date=August 26, 2021 |website=FierceHealthcare |date=August 23, 2021 |language=en}}

In 2023, Google shared that "there is no 'Google Healthcare' division or platform within Google today".{{Cite web |date=2023-03-15 |title=Frequently Asked Questions and Answers - Google Health |url=https://health.google/faqs/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |archive-date=March 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315204331/https://health.google/faqs/ |url-status=bot: unknown }} At the same time, there had been reports of a platform offering that non-company partners have referred to publicly as "Google Health". This is now known to refer to Google Care Studio.

In November 2019, Google announced plans to acquire Fitbit,{{Cite web|last=Gartenberg|first=Chaim|date=November 1, 2019|title=Google buys Fitbit for $2.1 billion|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/1/20943318/google-fitbit-acquisition-fitness-tracker-announcement|access-date=October 6, 2020|website=The Verge|language=en}} with the company adding that "Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads." The European Data Protection Board voiced privacy concerns in February 2020 about mass aggregation of data.{{Cite web|title=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/20/google-gobbling-fitbit-is-a-major-privacy-risk-warns-eu-data-protection-advisor/|access-date=October 6, 2020|website=TechCrunch|date=February 20, 2020 |language=en-US}} In August 2020, EU regulators announced plans for an anticompetition probe into the deal.{{Cite web|title=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/04/google-fitbit-deal-to-be-scrutinized-in-europe-over-data-competition-concerns/|access-date=October 6, 2020|website=TechCrunch|date=August 4, 2020 |language=en-US}} The acquisition was completed in January 2021.{{Cite web|last=Bursztynsky|first=Jessica|date=January 14, 2021|title=Google closes its Fitbit acquisition|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/14/google-closes-its-fitbit-acquisition.html|access-date=January 18, 2021|website=CNBC|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Porter|first=Jon|date=January 14, 2021|title=Google completes purchase of Fitbit|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/14/22188428/google-fitbit-acquisition-completed-approved|access-date=January 18, 2021|website=The Verge|language=en}} Later in 2021, a portion of the consumer health efforts of Google Health were formally moved into the FitBit division.

A personal health record app allowing users to rate their health records and share them with others appeared to be under development and real world testing in 2021.{{Cite web|title=Google Health App Tipped to Be in the Works: All You Need to Know|url=https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/google-health-app-integrate-medical-records-screenshots-leaked-android-users-rollout-first-2476787|access-date=July 11, 2021|website=NDTV Gadgets 360|date=July 2021 |language=en}}

"A quarter of Google Health's life has been spent during the coronavirus pandemic, and it's helped focus its search ambitions, partnerships with health officials, and collaboration across the company," chief health officer Karen DeSalvo said in August 2020.{{Cite web|last=Dodge|first=Blake|title=One of Google's top doctors explains how its coronavirus response is feeding into its long-term plans to reinvent how people get health information|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/googles-healthcare-strategy-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-8|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=Business Insider}} She described YouTube, Maps, Google Assistant, and Google search wanting to guide consumers on their healthcare experience, called the "Discovery to Action Pathway". This included searching for local testing sites, looking for doctors, and setting up an appointment.{{Cite web|date=August 19, 2020|title=Google's healthcare strategy amid the coronavirus pandemic – Business…|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/googles-healthcare-strategy-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-8|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200819212340/https://www.businessinsider.com/googles-healthcare-strategy-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-8|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 19, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=archive.is}}

In April 2020, Julie Black, Director of Product Management for Google Health, announced virtual care entries on Google Maps for medical businesses.{{Cite web|date=April 10, 2020|title=Connecting people to virtual care options|url=https://blog.google/technology/health/virtual-care-covid-19/|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=Google|language=en}}{{Primary source inline|date=November 2020}} Searches for "immediate care" would also show widely-available virtual care platforms like Live Health Online, AmWell and Doctor on Demand.

In August 2020, Google announced an partnership with and investment in AmWell, a telemedicine company.{{Cite web|title=Google Cloud And Amwell Partner On Telehealth {{!}} Press Releases|url=https://cloud.google.com/press-releases/2020/0824/google-cloud-amwell|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=Google Cloud|language=en}}{{Primary source inline|date=November 2020}} The two companies aim to use their technology capabilities for TeleHealthcare including artificial intelligence and collaboration tools. Google Cloud will also invest $100 million in Amwell.

{{main|Exposure Notifications}}

In 2020, Apple and Google announced changes to their operating systems that would enable exposure notification for users. Chief Health Officer Karen DeSalvo noted that privacy concerns had led to the approach using Bluetooth-based proximity signals rather than GPS location tracking.{{Cite web|last=Reuter|first=Elise|date=May 15, 2020|title=Apple-Google effort not a panacea for contact tracing|url=https://medcitynews.com/2020/05/apple-google-effort-not-a-panacea-for-contact-tracing/|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=MedCity News|language=en-US}} In the UK, an NHS-developed app saw some adoption resulting in 1.7M exposure notifications.{{Cite web|last=Lovejoy|first=Ben|date=February 9, 2021|title=Apple/Google contact tracing API saved thousands of lives in England & Wales|url=https://9to5mac.com/2021/02/09/thousands-of-lives/|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=9to5Mac|language=en-US}} However, as of 2022, adoption of apps using Apple and Google’s exposure notification system had never gone above single digits for most states in the U.S.{{Cite web|date=February 8, 2022|title=What happened to those COVID exposure apps?|url=https://www.marketplace.org/2022/02/08/what-happened-to-those-covid-exposure-apps/|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=Marketplace|language=en-US}}

Other countries had elected not to use the Google framework has opted for location tracking. Instead, some had special laws previously created for the public health emergency, allowing government use of location tracking and transaction databases by government authorities. In South Korea, authorities using cellphone location data had identified 60,000 people near a mass-exposure event in Itaewon. Affected individuals were notified, with some asked to self-quarantine, resulting in only 246 cases from the exposure. Privacy advocates expressed concern over the use of location data in this way.{{Cite web|last=Scott|first=Dylan|date=April 19, 2021|title=South Korea's Covid-19 success story started with failure|url=https://www.vox.com/22380161/south-korea-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-contact-tracing-testing|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=Vox|language=en}}

In late 2020, Google introduced a Google Health Studies app for Android phones, appearing to rival Apple’s ResearchKit and Research App.{{Cite web|last=Reuter|first=Elise|date=December 10, 2020|title=Google rolls out health research app|url=https://medcitynews.com/2020/12/google-rolls-out-health-research-app/|access-date=December 31, 2020|website=MedCity News|language=en-US}} The first studies on the Health Studies app focus on respiratory illness like COVID-19.{{Cite web|last=Wetsman|first=Nicole|date=December 9, 2020|title=Google launches health research app|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/9/22165465/google-health-research-app-covid-flu-apple|access-date=December 31, 2020|website=The Verge|language=en}} Google deployed federated learning in an effort to improve privacy and security in its Health Studies app.{{Cite web|date=December 10, 2020|title=Google Launches Health Studies App to Let Medical Researchers Collect Data in a 'Secure' Manner|url=https://www.news18.com/news/tech/google-launches-health-studies-app-to-let-medical-researchers-collect-data-in-a-secure-manner-3163823.html|access-date=December 31, 2020|website=News18|language=en}}

The Google Health Studies app was introduced amidst news that a competing Apple Research app had inadvertently collected more health data than requested.{{Cite web|title=Apple Hearing Study inadvertently collected more health data than requested|url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/12/28/apple-hearing-study-inadvertently-collected-more-health-data-than-requested--already-deleted-extra-data|access-date=December 31, 2020|website=AppleInsider|date=December 28, 2020 |language=en}} The Apple study had unintentionally collected 30 days of additional data, which was not requested as part of the study. According to emails to study participants, extra data had reportedly been deleted and was never accessed by Apple.{{Cite web|title=Apple Hearing Study Bug Results in Accidental Historical Data Collection From Participants|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/28/apple-hearing-study-accidental-data-collection/|access-date=December 31, 2020|website=MacRumors|date=December 28, 2020 |language=en}}

In March 2023, the CEO of MEDITECH, an electronic health record company, referred to Google Health as a product with features including "search and summarization capabilities."{{Cite web |date=2023-04-17 |title=Meditech highlighting Google Health integration and cloud EHR at HIMSS23 |url=https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/meditech-highlighting-google-health-integration-and-cloud-ehr-himss23 |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=Healthcare IT News |language=en}} Later that Month, Google Health and MEDITECH announced a partnership to integrate the Google Care Studio product into MEDITECH's latest EHR product, Expanse.

Google Health's current partners include Apollo Hospitals, Aravind Eye Hospital, Ascension, CIDRZ, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern Medicine, Rajavithi Hospital, Sankara Nethralaya, and Stanford Medicine.{{Cite web |title=Health Tech & Research Partners – Google Health |url=https://health.google/partners/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=health.google |language=en}}

The original Google Health (2008–2012), like many other Google products, was free to use for consumers. Unlike other Google services, however, Health contained no advertising.{{cite web| url= https://www.google.com/health/html/faq.html|title=Google Health: Frequently Asked Questions| access-date=May 20, 2008}} Google did not reveal how it planned to make money with the service, but a Wall Street Journal article said that Google "hasn't ruled [advertising] out for the future."{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121123806355705263| title=Wall Street Journal: Google Helps Organize Medical Records|access-date=May 20, 2008 | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Jessica E. | last=Vascellaro | date=May 20, 2008}} Google filed in 2007, U.S. Patent Application #20070282632, "Method and apparatus for serving advertisements in an electronic medical record system".{{cite web|date= December 6, 2007| url= http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20070282632.PGNR.&OS=dn/20070282632&RS=DN/20070282632| title= Method and apparatus for serving advertisements in an electronic medical record system | publisher=USPTO| access-date=June 28, 2011}}

Google Health (from 2008 to 2012) imported medical and/or drug prescription information from the following partners: Allscripts, Anvita Health, The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, The Cleveland Clinic, CVS Caremark, Drugs.com, Healthgrades, Longs Drugs, Medco Health Solutions, Quest Diagnostics, RxAmerica, and Walgreens.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/health/html/about/profiles.html|title=Google Health: Partner Profiles|access-date=March 11, 2009}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}} In January 2010, the Withings WiFi Body scale enables Google Health users to seamlessly update their weight and other data to their online profiles.{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/29/wiscale/|title=Bathroom scale plugs into Google Health|last=Ray|first=Bill|date=January 29, 2010|work=The Register|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428053258/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/29/wiscale/|archive-date=April 28, 2016|access-date=May 11, 2010}} Users whose health records reside with other providers had to either manually enter their data or pay to have a Google Health partner perform the service. MediConnect Global was one such partner; for a fee, they would retrieve a user's medical records from around the world and add them to his or her profile.

In 2009, in response to demand for added convenience, Google Health began establishing relationships with tele-health providers that will allow their users to sync the data shared during tele-health consultations with their online health records partnerships have been formed with the following companies: MDLiveCare and Hello Health.{{cite web| url= http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/fall-update-on-google-health.html|title=Fall update on Google Health|access-date=October 7, 2009}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}}

The original Google Health was an opt-in service, meaning it could only access medical information volunteered by individuals. It did not retrieve any part of a person's medical records without his or her explicit consent and action. However, it did encourage users to set up profiles for other individuals. According to its Terms of Service, Google Health is not considered a "covered entity" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; thus, HIPAA privacy laws do not apply to it.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/health/html/terms.html|title=Google Health: Terms of Service|access-date=May 20, 2008}}

In a 2008 article covering the original Google Health's launch, the New York Times discussed privacy issues and said that "patients apparently did not shun the Google health records because of qualms that their personal health information might not be secure if held by a large technology company."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/technology/20google.html|title=Google Offers Personal Health Records on the Web|access-date=May 20, 2008 |work=The New York Times|first=Steve|last=Lohr|date=May 20, 2008}} Others contend that Google Health may be more private than the current "paper" health record system because of reduced human interaction.{{cite web|url=http://humani.st/google-health-can-fix-us-healthcare/|title=Humanist → Google Health Can Fix U.S. Healthcare|access-date=May 27, 2008|archive-date=May 30, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530034008/http://humani.st/google-health-can-fix-us-healthcare/|url-status=dead}}

In 2017, DeepMind, a Google-owned company, was found to have not complied with UK data protection laws, according to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.{{Cite web|last=Kharpal|first=Arjun|date=July 3, 2017|title=Google DeepMind patient data deal with UK health service illegal, watchdog says|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/03/google-deepmind-nhs-deal-health-data-illegal-ico-says.html|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=CNBC|language=en}} The health unit of DeepMind had been formed in early 2016. DeepMind acquired a task management app called Hark developed by Dominic King and Lord Ara Darzi at Imperial College.{{Cite magazine|last=Rundle|first=Michael|date=February 25, 2016|title=Why DeepMind wants to bring AI to the NHS|language=en-GB|magazine=Wired UK|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-deepmind-health|access-date=September 25, 2020|issn=1357-0978}} Deepmind Health was also developing an app with the NHS Royal Free Hospital called Streams that helped monitor patients with acute kidney injury. The ICO said that patients were not notified correctly about how their data was being used. The DeepMind Health team noted the appointment of David Feinberg at Google in November 2018,{{Cite web|title=Scaling Streams with Google|url=https://deepmind.com/blog/announcements/scaling-streams-google|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=Deepmind|date=November 13, 2018 }} and later officially joined Google Health in late 2019.{{Cite web|title=DeepMind's health team joins Google Health|url=https://deepmind.com/blog/announcements/deepmind-health-joins-google-health|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=Deepmind|date=September 18, 2019 }}

In June 2019, University of Chicago, its medical center, and Google were sued in a potential class-action lawsuit about patient record sharing. A federal judge dismissed the patient data privacy lawsuit on September 4, 2020.{{Cite web|title=Judge dismisses data sharing lawsuit against University of Chicago, Google|url=https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/judge-dismisses-data-sharing-lawsuit-against-university-chicago-google|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=FierceHealthcare|date=September 8, 2020 |language=en}} The class action suit had been filed by plaintiff Matt Dinerstein and represented by attorney Jay Edelson.{{Cite web|last=HealthITSecurity|date=September 8, 2020|title=Patient Data Privacy Lawsuit Against Google, UChicago Dismissed|url=https://healthitsecurity.com/news/patient-data-privacy-lawsuit-against-google-uchicago-dismissed|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=HealthITSecurity|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Google, University of Chicago Face Revamped Health Privacy Suit|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/google-university-of-chicago-face-revamped-health-privacy-suit|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=news.bloomberglaw.com|date=October 3, 2019 |language=en}}

The University noted that class action attorney Edelson had a potential conflict of interest, as an investor in a competing company, Quant HC. According to a legal motion filed in 2019, Edelson and his law partners allegedly "funded, organized, and served as officers and directors of" Quant HC, a company founded by Edelson’s spouse, a physician at University of Chicago.{{Cite web|title=U of Chicago Seeks Health Suit End on Alleged Attorney Conflict (1)|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/u-of-chicago-seeks-health-suit-end-on-alleged-attorney-conflict|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=news.bloomberglaw.com|language=en}} Quant HC, produced medical software called ECART, and received $600,000 of initial investment from Edelson and his wife from its founding in 2012.{{Cite web|date=February 3, 2018|title=Quant startup offers cardiac-arrest predictive software, eCart – In O…|url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180201/ISSUE01/180209999/quant-startup-offers-cardiac-arrest-predictive-software-ecart|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180203220222/http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180201/ISSUE01/180209999/quant-startup-offers-cardiac-arrest-predictive-software-ecart|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2018|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=archive.is}}{{Cite web|date=February 1, 2018|title=What if you could prevent someone from suffering cardiac arrest?|url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180201/ISSUE01/180209999/quant-startup-offers-cardiac-arrest-predictive-software-ecart|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=Crain's Chicago Business|language=en}}

In 2018, Project Nightingale started the partnership with Ascension, one of the largest United States health care systems. Ascension health system and Google described the partnership including infrastructure modernization, transitioning to productivity and collaboration tools, and exploring artificial intelligence / machine learning applications and tools for doctors and nurses.{{Cite web|title=Ascension News|url=https://ascension.org/News/News-Articles/2019/11/11/19/51/Ascension-and-Google-working-together-on-healthcare-transformation|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=ascension.org|language=en-us}}{{Cite web|title=Our partnership with Ascension|url=https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/inside-google-cloud/our-partnership-with-ascension/|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=Google Cloud Blog|language=en}}

In November 2019, Google engineers were reported to have had access to medical records held by Ascension as they were building products and as a result, the US government opened up an investigation on the partnership.{{Cite web|last=Kuchler|first=Hannah|date=January 20, 2020|title=Can we ever trust Google with our health data?|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4ade8884-1b40-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211221236/https://www.ft.com/content/4ade8884-1b40-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4|archive-date=December 11, 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=January 30, 2020|website=Financial Times}} From December 2019 to March 2020, a group of U.S. Senators asked for more information about the project, and how sensitive health information was protected.{{Cite web|date=March 4, 2020|title=US senators question Ascension on its Google collaboration Project Nightingale|url=https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/us-senators-question-ascension-its-google-collaboration-project-nightingale|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=MobiHealthNews|language=en}}

Legal observers, however, had noted that there had probably not actually been any HIPAA federal privacy law violations, citing a business associate agreement between Google and Ascension in line with what HIPAA allowed.{{Cite web|date=November 13, 2019|title=Google-Ascension: Why Is HIPAA Probably Not Being Violated? – Op-Ed|url=https://hitconsultant.net/2019/11/13/google-ascension-why-is-hipaa-probably-not-being-violated/|access-date=September 10, 2020|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=November 13, 2019|title=Project Nightingale seems to square with HIPAA, but next steps matter|url=https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/project-nightingale-seems-square-hipaa-next-steps-matter|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=Healthcare IT News|language=en}} Other health data experts commented that companies such as IQVIA, UnitedHealth Optum Labs, and Symphony Health, IBM Watson Health (Truven Health) "reap the profits of selling the healthcare data while the people from whom it's collected have no control over how it's used. Nor do they get any compensation for it."{{Cite web|last=Mearian|first=Lucas|date=November 15, 2019|title=Yes, Google's using your healthcare data – and it's not alone|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/3453818/yes-googles-using-your-healthcare-data-and-its-not-alone.html|access-date=September 11, 2020|website=Computerworld|language=en}} For example, IQVIA, a large pharmaceutical research and marketing conglomerate noted that they have data on over 600 million patients in their public 10-K financial filings.{{Cite web|title=IQVIA Holdings Inc. – SEC Filings|url=https://ir.iqvia.com/financial-reports/sec-filings/default.aspx|access-date=September 11, 2020|website=ir.iqvia.com}}

Other media coverage noted that while Google had done nothing illegal, questions remained on what other uses Google intended.{{Cite magazine|title=Google Is Slurping Up Health Data—and It Looks Totally Legal|language=en-us|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/google-is-slurping-up-health-dataand-it-looks-totally-legal/|access-date=September 25, 2020|issn=1059-1028}} Google executive Tariq Shaukat wrote in an official statement that the data would be used in extending tools to doctors and nurses to improve care, writing: "We aim to provide tools that Ascension could use to support improvements in clinical quality and patient safety."{{Cite web|title=Our partnership with Ascension|url=https://cloud.google.com/blog/|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=Google Cloud Blog|language=en}} The official post was later amended to clarify that Ascension patient data would not be combined with Google consumer data, stating "In accordance with HIPAA and the BAA we sign with our customers, patient data cannot be used for any other purpose than for provisioning the tools specific to the customer."

The stated commitment by Google to not combine data stood in contrast to the health records activities by Facebook.

While Google noted they would not combine health data with consumer data, Facebook had reportedly sought to combine hashed electronic health record data with consumer data. The secretive Facebook "Building 8" project, led by cardiologist Freddy Abnousi, sought to "combine what a health system knows about its patients (such as: person has heart disease, is age 50, takes 2 medications and made 3 trips to the hospital this year) with what Facebook knows (such as: user is age 50, married with 3 kids, English isn't a primary language, actively engages with the community by sending a lot of messages)."{{Cite web|last=Farr|first=Christina|date=April 5, 2018|title=Facebook sent a doctor on a secret mission to ask hospitals to share patient data|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/05/facebook-building-8-explored-data-sharing-agreement-with-hospitals.html|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=CNBC|language=en}}

In August 2020, as Google began acquisition of FitBit, the European Commission began investigating Google's potential uses of data collected from Fitbit's health tracking hardware.{{Cite web|last=Vincent|first=James|date=August 4, 2020|title=EU launches full investigation into Google's Fitbit acquisition over health data fears|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/4/21353947/google-fitbit-acquisition-eu-investigation-antitrust-health-tracking-data|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=The Verge|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Press corner|url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=European Commission – European Commission|language=en}} The Commission expressed concerns about competition, the effects of combining data from FitBit and Google in the digital healthcare sector, and potential effects of interoperability of rivals' wearables with Google's Android operating system for smartphones.

{{Accuracy|date=April 2024|what=section}}

Google's parent company Alphabet, Inc. has also been active in the healthcare industry with the companies Verily, Calico, and DeepMind.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90430231/googles-data-misdeeds-are-haunting-its-health-care-plans|title=Google's data misdeeds are haunting its healthcare plans|last=Reader|first=Ruth|date=November 15, 2019|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=January 29, 2020}} In July 2020, sister company Verily was described as acting "largely independent of one another", while Verily chief executive officer Andrew Conrad reportedly wanted to end the "rivalry" between the two companies and collaborate more closely.{{Cite web|last=Langley|first=Hugh|title=As Verily looks to IPO, CEO Andrew Conrad says an inter-Alphabet 'sibling rivalry' with Google's own health team is hurting both companies|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/verily-ceo-vowed-to-end-siblng-rivalry-with-google-health-2020-7|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=Business Insider}}{{Cite web|date=August 24, 2020|title=Verily CEO vowed to end 'sibling rivalry' with Google Health – Busine…|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/verily-ceo-vowed-to-end-siblng-rivalry-with-google-health-2020-7|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200824084413/https://www.businessinsider.com/verily-ceo-vowed-to-end-siblng-rivalry-with-google-health-2020-7|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 24, 2020|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=archive.is}}

On December 7, 2011, MediConnect Global announced a similar capability that allows displaced Google Health users to transfer their personal health records to a MyMediConnect account.{{cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111207005872/en/MyMediConnect-Offers-Displaced-Google-Health-Users-Free|title=MyMediConnect Offers Displaced Google Health Users Free, Simple Conversion Process for Transferring Personal Health Record Account|date=December 7, 2011|website=BusinessWire|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060908/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111207005872/en/MyMediConnect-Offers-Displaced-Google-Health-Users-Free|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=May 9, 2012}}

Google Health was a personal health record (PHR) service with numerous competitors, including other proprietary PHR systems and open-source such as Microsoft's HealthVault, Dossia, and the open-source Indivo project.{{cite web|url=http://indivohealth.org/research|title=History of the Personally Controlled Health Record|work=Indivo|publisher=Children's Hospital Informatics Program|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521074313/http://indivohealth.org/research|archive-date=May 21, 2016|quote=The Indivo project has its roots in the Guardian Angel project, a collaboration between Harvard and MIT …|access-date=January 15, 2010}} The article shows a simple timeline or pedigree of the Personally Controlled Health Record.

In the United States hospital market for electronic health records (EHR) in 2018, Epic, Cerner, MEDITECH, and CSPI (Evident Thrive) had the top market share at 28%, 26%, 9%, and 6%.{{Cite web|url=https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/emr-market-share-wars-epic-and-cerner-triumph-yet-again|title=In EMR Market Share Wars, Epic and Cerner Triumph Yet Again {{!}} HealthLeaders Media|website=www.healthleadersmedia.com|access-date=August 6, 2019}} For large hospitals with over 500 beds, Epic and Cerner had over 85% market share in 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hcinnovationgroup.com/clinical-it/electronic-health-record-electronic-medical-record-ehr-emr/news/21078716/epic-cerner-continue-to-dominate-us-hospital-ehr-market-klas-finds|title=Epic, Cerner Continue to Dominate U.S. Hospital EHR Market, KLAS Finds|website=Healthcare Innovation|date=May 2019 |language=en|access-date=August 6, 2019}}

{{Main|Microsoft HealthVault|}}

On July 18, 2011, Microsoft released a tool that lets Google Health customers transfer their personal health information to a web-based Microsoft HealthVault account.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-offers-transfer-tool-to-google-health-users/|title=Microsoft offers transfer tool to Google Health users|last=Greene|first=Jay|date=July 18, 2011|website=CNET|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=June 7, 2017}} HealthVault had partnered with American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson, and Allscripts.{{Cite web|url=https://medcitynews.com/2019/04/microsoft-healthvault-is-officially-shutting-down-in-november/|title=Microsoft HealthVault is officially shutting down in November|last=Truong|first=Kevin|date=April 8, 2019|website=MedCity News|language=en-US|access-date=January 29, 2020}} In November 2019, Microsoft HealthVault was shut down and it was suggested users migrate their records to Get Real Health and FollowMyHealth.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Official website|https://health.google}}
• Video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21A1CdmFcwE&feature=emb_title HLTH conference, David Feinberg, Head of Google Health] from 2019, via YouTube

{{Google LLC}}

{{Health software}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Google Health}}

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