Building a better PHR paradigm: Lessons From the discontinuation of Google HealthTM

The growing volume and complexity of healthcare information, and the relevant exchange of that data, is overwhelming healthcare professionals and patients within the United States healthcare system. The federally mandated digitization of medical records may facilitate the expedited adoption of the personal health record (PHR), however, as the majority of Americans want to be more involved in their care. The world’s greatest purveyor of information gathering and organization, Google Inc., attempted to facilitate a comprehensive PHR paradigm, but discontinued after experiencing limited success. Deficiencies in the Google HealthTM project that resulted in discontinuation are reviewed and presented here in an attempt to reinvigorate the imagination of scholars, clinicians, and health informatics professionals to aid in our work refining healthcare communication and documentation.