Viewpoint: The pros and cons of Google's healthcare pursuit

Not everyone agrees on whether partnerships between big tech companies and health systems bring harm or opportunity to patients, according to an opinion published in the Wall Street Journal.

Medical research consultant Joyce Cramer sees Google's move into the healthcare space as a great opportunity to improve patient care. With more data, healthcare providers can improve treatments. Ms. Cramer notes that if patients can report their disease progress in an app or on Google, providers can use that information to develop and manage future treatment plans.

"Rather than cast Google and health system partners as villains, recognize they are advancing healthcare toward better management for subgroups of patients," Ms. Cramer said in the WSJ.

However, Chip Monroe, MD, a pediatrician, is not sold on Google's pursuit to improve the search function of EHRs.

"Any practicing physician can tell you that the medical information found in electronic medical records is excessive, repetitive and often incorrect," Dr. Monroe said in the WSJ. "What used to be contained in one short note is now often 10 or more pages of almost useless drivel. It's great for checking the boxes for billing purposes but often less ideal for the actual documentation of a patient interaction. It's humorous to me that Google thinks it can 'expand the frontiers of medicine' and 'make people healthy' by mining our electronic medical records."

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