14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft HealthVault is ready to welcome Google Health users with open arms, the Redmond company revealed.
The software giant has been hard at work to streamline the transition of Google Health data to its own HealthVault service.
According to a confirmation from the Mountain View-based search giant issued on June 24th, the plan is to discontinue the Google Health as of January 1, 2012.
Existing Google Health customers will still be able to access their health information until January 1, 2013. Of course, in this context the best solution for Google Health users is to find a new home for their data, as soon as possible. Microsoft HealthVault is more than a suitable alternative.
“Google has been an important ally in providing customers with access to their data and tools to better manage care online,” revealed Nate McLemore, general manager, Microsoft Health Solutions Group.
“Microsoft continues to advance the HealthVault platform to increase its value to consumers — by adding important features, such as support for mobile devices, and by collaborating with hundreds of health organizations, including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and CVS Pharmacy — to deliver robust health and wellness applications that connect to HealthVault.”
The Google Health to Microsoft HealthVault health data transfer is made possible because both services play nice with the Direct Project messaging protocols from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.
Microsoft has even set up the “Welcome, Google Health users” page on its HealthVault site, desiccated to the users that have been forced to jump the Mountain View company’s sinking health ship.
Customers have two options at their disposal. They can either send their data to HealthVault automatically, or manually download the information from Google Health and upload it to HealthVault.
“A Google Health account holder who wants to transfer his or her personal health information to HealthVault can start by selecting the “Send profile to another service” option on the Download menu in Google Health,” Microsoft said.
“Google Health will then send his or her Google Health profile directly to HealthVault as an encrypted message using the Direct Project messaging protocols. Users will receive confirmation in Google Health that their profile was sent, and then an email explaining how to create a HealthVault account and complete the data transfer.”