Google recently launched a new health information service, aptly named Google Health. The service allows users to store their personal medical information online, and offers services such as links to pharmacies and medical laboratories, a medication reminder, and a physician finder.

Internet users know, however, that anything you put online has the potential to be viewed by another person, perhaps many different people, so Google's launch of this new site has not gone without question. Google says every effort has been made to insure that information stored on Google Health stays private, including storing the information on a separate set of computers on their premises.

I took a minute to check it out, and it's definitely a unique service. If you have are on the lookout for a system to centralize all of your health information, then Google Health may be exactly what you need. Many patients will even be able to schedule appointments and refill prescriptions online ... very convenient!

Have you tried Google Health? Would the privacy issues concern you?

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Are you concerned about the safety of your medical records as it relates to privacy? You should be -- medical records are among the most sensitive records there are.

So, it comes as no surprise to many of us that newer federal patient privacy rules are starting to affect medical research. Patients are becoming harder to recruit and their medical records are even tougher to gain access to.

Is this good or bad? If patients voluntarily know that they'll be part of medical research and give access to records after knowing of all the privacy implications, so be it. Is this generally the case, though?

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