A Product Plan For ‘Google Health’?

May 24, 2007 at 9:01am ET by Greg Sterling

From time to time in the past, Google’s Adam Bosworth has posted on health-related questions. Many people have speculated that health would be a vertical to get special attention from Google. And there have thus been “Google Health” rumors for a long time.

Yesterday Bosworth posted again and linked to notes from a speech he delivered at American Medical Association of Informatics conference.

The post excerpts the high-level points from the speech about:

* Discovery – Consumers should be able to discover the most relevant health information possible * Action – Consumers should have direct access to personalized services to help them get the best and most convenient possible health support * Community – Consumers should be able to learn from and educate those in similar health circumstances and from their health practitioners

But what’s interesting is that Google seems to be developing its product — assuming there is to be one — somewhat in public. The notes read a bit like a product outline or “creative brief.”

Health is an online segment with high consumer demand and advertiser interest. It has also seen a flurry of new site launches over the past 12 months, including Healthline and Steve Case’s Revolution Health. Microsoft also recently acquired health search engine Medstory.

Postscript: Health search or Google Health (or whatever emerges) may seek to make use of information developed by 23andMe, the biotech firm in which Google recently invested. Persistent Google critic Donna Bogatin outlines what she believes are the major privacy concerns associated with Google and personal health information.

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, and writes a personal blog Screenwerk, examining the broader world of media and advertising. He also posts at a Local Mobile Search, which is focused on the mobile Internet.

See more articles by Greg Sterling >

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