A year and a half ago Google began developing technology for personal health records and has recently gotten a boost by joining with the Cleveland Clinic.

Cleveland Clinic is at the cutting edge of health information technology, and its more than 100,000 patients each has a personal health record. But a sizable portion of those patients are retirees, notes Dr. C. Martin Harris, the clinic’s chief information officer. Many of them, he said, spend about five months elsewhere, typically in Florida or Arizona, and the clinic’s sophisticated electronic health records don’t follow them there.

Enter Google Health, which can store a patient’s information online, accessible through a secure website, allowing patients to take their information with them.  Google, however, isn’t the only company trying to get in on the action.  Microsoft’s HealthVault is also competing for the attention of patients and currently has more partnerships than Google.

While it’s still not entirely clear what Google’s personal health record will be like, its approach seems to be ambitious and comprehensive. Google has its own user interface, while Microsoft, for example, appears to be focusing on back-end storage. Google is offering automated data links, so the patient does not have to type in personal data, as is required with some personal health records. And Google, along with Microsoft, has the deep pockets and technological knowhow to offer personal health records free to millions.

There are several companies, with several different programs already in the works.  No one knows if they will be compatible with each other or what will happen once their networks are hacked.  Hillary Clinton thinks all Americans should have their medical records digitized, but is she going to pay for the costs of recovering your data and identity once it’s been compromised?

What is going to happen when people are denied jobs because current and potential employers have access to individuals’ medical information?  If you think it can’t happen because of HIPAA laws, you’re mistaken.  It’s already happening.