CLEVELAND, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleveland Clinic, a world-class academic medical institution and leader in health information technology, today announced a collaboration with Google, the world’s leading Internet search company, to pilot features and services of a new health offering from Google. The Google offering, not yet publicly available, will assist providers like Cleveland Clinic to create a new kind of healthcare experience that puts the patient in charge of his or her own health information.
Today, more than 100,000 Cleveland Clinic patients benefit from Cleveland Clinic’s electronic personal health record (PHR) system called eCleveland Clinic MyChart®. The pilot, an invitation-only opportunity offered to a group of Cleveland Clinic PHR users, plans to enroll between 1,500 and 10,000 patients. It will test secure exchange of patient medical record data such as prescriptions, conditions and allergies between their Cleveland Clinic PHR to a secure Google profile in a live clinical delivery setting. The ultimate goal of this patient-centered and controlled model is to give patients the ability to interact with multiple physicians, healthcare service providers and pharmacies.
“Patients are more proactively managing their own healthcare information,” said C. Martin Harris, M.D., Chief Information Officer, Cleveland Clinic. “At Cleveland Clinic, we strive to participate in and help to advance the national dialogue around a more efficient and effective national healthcare system. Utilizing Cleveland Clinic’s PHR expertise, this collaboration is intended to help Google test features and services that will ultimately allow all Americans (as patients) to direct the exchange of their medical information between their various providers without compromising their privacy.”
The pilot will eventually extend Cleveland Clinic’s online patient services to a broader audience while enabling the portability of patient data so patients can take their data with them wherever they go-even outside the Cleveland Clinic Health System.
“We believe patients should be able to easily access and manage their own health information,” said Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products and User Experience, Google. “We chose Cleveland Clinic as one of the first partners to pilot our new health offering because as a provider, they already empower their patients by giving them online tools that help them manage their medical records online and coordinate care with their doctors.”
By integrating with the Google platform, Cleveland Clinic is helping create national access to electronic medical records at no cost to the user or provider. The integration between the two systems will help deliver:
-- National Access-A more efficient and effective healthcare system driven by a working interoperability model that moves electronic medical records from a closed model to one that is open and connected.
-- Consumer Empowerment-A secure patient-centric, consumer-driven tool that will provide each consumer increased control of their medical care, without compromising their privacy. This will empower patients to actively manage their overall health.
-- 24/7 Access/Portability-A web portal with 24/7 access, capable of providing the consumer with an opportunity to actively engage in their health care, heightening the importance of quality care and service by providers.
“The partnership with Google is an example of true innovation in health care which brings value to patients and providers,” said Delos M. “Toby” Cosgrove, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Cleveland Clinic, and member of the Google Health Advisory Council. “As the volume of medical information available to patients increases, it becomes more important for doctors and patients to use this information in a way that empowers the patient to be more collaborative with their care providers.”
About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Approximately 1,800 full-time salaried physicians and researchers at Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2006, there were 3.1 million outpatient visits to Cleveland Clinic. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 80 countries. There were more than 53,000 hospital admissions to Cleveland Clinic in 2006. Cleveland Clinic’s Web site address is http://www.clevelandclinic.org.
About Google Inc.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.google.com. For information on the Google Health Advisory Council, visit the following blog post: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/new-advisory-group-on-health.html.
Source: Cleveland Clinic
