Privacy Maven

Microsoft has just launched HeathVault, and the company asserts its commitment to user privacy:

As the name suggests, the HealthVault site is designed to be an online, encrypted vault, where U.S. users can store and manage their health records without paying a fee. The site will also serve as a repository for health-related articles and other information, Microsoft said.

HealthVault will also allow users to upload data from a small number of HealthVault-compatible devices, and allow users to send, receive and store their own medical records and information from doctors and healthcare providers. The information that could be stored in the vault includes data from fitness-related and health activities, according to Microsoft. Examples include aerobic sessions, measurements such as blood glucose and blood pressure, discharge summaries from hospitalizations, lab results, medications, and health history.

Microsoft’s effort also won an endorsement from the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation, which praised Microsoft’s privacy policy, which allows users to control which information they provide to other services through an opt-in program. In its privacy page, Microsoft says “We do not use your health information for commercial purposes unless we ask and you clearly tell us we may.”

As a BusinessWeek article points out, Microsoft is taking an enormous risk; their failure to safeguard users’ information would be disastrous:

Convincing patients that Microsoft can safeguard their data, though, won’t be easy. Dr. Deborah C. Peel, the founder and chair of the consumer advocacy group Patient Privacy Rights, says she believes Microsoft’s servers are about as secure as they get. That’s because “if they spill the data, it would completely ruin” Microsoft’s reputation, says Peel. “It would be like the Exxon Valdez.”

Microsoft is willing to take that risk—and is betting that putting a trove of information in patients’ hands will ultimately make money while improving health care. For Microsoft, HealthVault isn’t so much a leap in technology as it is a smart business bet. “This isn’t bleeding edge,” says Glen E. Tullman, chief executive of Allscripts. “It’s leading edge.”

When you visit the HealthVault website, you will find it designated “Beta.” The privacy policy is extensive and detailed.