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The photo to the left was taken in our backyard in January 2006. (Yes, I am sure it was January, even though there is no snow.)

I tend to be concerned about many things having to do with technology, but I rarely feel the need to comment. In this case, however, there is something about Google Health that I feel deserves highlighting in as many places as possible. I know that Google is very popular (I use them for almost all of my searching), so it seems likely people will flock to Google Health without giving it much thought. Therein lies my concern.

It is one thing to carefully consider the options and decide that Google Health is right for you. However, it is unlikely that most users of Google Health will be this careful. Google is not the kind of place I want to keep my health information. That information is very private, I would be hesitant to share it with anyone who does not need it, especially a company like Google with a privacy policy that is rated one of the worst of leading online companies. This article reminded me of this fact and how readily it will be overlooked by the general public. The author also points out that Google does not publish details about security flaws in their poducts. While security flaws are to be expected, I am not impressed with Google's track record when it comes to volume. The fact that they do not people know when they have slipped up is unacceptable.

If you are looking at using Google Health, please give some thought to how much benefit you will get from it and how much risk you are taking. I am not sure if there are any similar services out there with which I would be more comfortable, so for now I will stick to the traditional (painful) methods of tracking and sharing my medical information. Hopefully I will find an option in the future that will work well for me, and maybe that will be Google Health if they make some changes to their policies and exhibit a strong track record.

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