Microsoft Launches Technology Platform to Collect, Store and Share Health Information

Joined by nationally recognized medical providers, health-management device manufacturers and patient advocacy organizations, Microsoft Corp. today launched Microsoft HealthVault, a software and services platform aimed at helping people better manage their health information. The company outlined its vision for ways that HealthVault can bring the health and technology industries together to create new applications, services and connected devices that help people manage and monitor their personal health information, including weight loss and disease management, such as for diabetes.

"People are concerned to find themselves at the center of the healthcare ecosystem today because they must navigate a complex web of disconnected interactions between providers, hospitals, insurance companies and even government agencies," said Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft. "Our focus is simple: to empower people to lead healthy lives. The launch of HealthVault makes it possible for people to collect their private health information on their terms and for companies across the health industry to deliver compatible tools and services built on the HealthVault platform."

Microsoft today also announced the availability of HealthVault Search, a powerful new vertical health search tool designed to work with the platform. Integrated with Live Search and accessible on the HealthVault Web site, this specialized health search engine intuitively organizes the most relevant online health content, allowing people to refine searches faster and with more accuracy, and eventually connect them with HealthVault-compatible solutions.

Created in cooperation with leading privacy advocates, respected security experts and dozens of the world's leading healthcare organizations, HealthVault is designed and built to enhance privacy while providing people with the control they expect and require.

"Microsoft is the first major technology company to engage with the bipartisan Coalition for Patient Privacy in a serious way. The privacy protections built into HealthVault reflect the privacy principles of the Coalition. HealthVault prohibits onward transfer of data without explicit informed consent; its contractual obligations with advertisers require protection of any data transferred from the platform; its privacy policy is simple and easy to understand," said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation. "That means consumers finally have a trusted place to store their personal health information that will not be data-mined, because they alone control it. Microsoft's use of strong privacy principles including the principles of the Coalition, its ongoing relationship with consumer advocates, and its commitment to independent third-party audits set a new standard for privacy protections in health information technology."