14 DAY TRIAL // Google announced recently that CSV had been added to the Google Health RX network of pharmacy partners. In excess of 100 million users are now offered streamlined access to their medication records online, a move driven by the idea that ‘information is power’ and that they would be able to improve the quality of the medical services that are provided to them and ultimately that of their health. Via Google Health accounts users can store information on their medical background in only one place and have it available anytime, anywhere.
Today, information on almost anything can be accessed online, starting with bank transactions and ending with car insurance. Still, medical records are very hard to get to, as Maneesh Arora, product manager for Google Health notes, "When I first started working on Google Health, I was shocked by how hard it is for people to access their own medical records. I wondered why that's the case when it's so easy to access other types of personal information like bank transactions, cell phone records, and utility bills. In many states you can even renew your car registration online with a few clicks. Yet when it comes to something arguably much more important, such as your own medical records or a current list of medications, we have little to no access. It just doesn't seem right."
Google Health is based on the idea that medical records are critical to users' lives and thus it seems only natural to have a secure copy of them stored in the Cloud. This permits users to have a complete medical history no matter the doctors they see.
The partnership between CSV and Google Health is planned to offer more than 100 million people access to their prescription history, info that can be saved online in a Google Health account. The Mountain View search giant also announced that the company was working with other national and regional pharmacy chains in order to improve the quality of the services that it offers.
"It's estimated that 1.5 million Americans are sickened or injured each year by errors in prescribing, dispensing and/or taking medications. Some experts suggest that medication errors claim more than 7,000 lives each year. Making your medications known to those who care for you is a simple step to ensure you get the best possible care. Not to mention, imagine how important having immediate access to this information could be during an emergency," Arora added.