HealthVault is a software and services platform designed to help you better manage your health information. Part of this is HealthVault Search, a search tool designed to organize the most relevant online health content, letting you better refine searches for more accuracy, and, eventually, connect you with HealthVault-compatible solutions.
The new set of services that comprise HealthVault are available at health.live.com. Here you can search, collect, and store health information which can then be shared with doctors, hospitals, personal trainers, or anyone you choose. The information can also be shared with specific programs that are designed to access the raw data in your account to provide you with info about managing your health. Health information for many people (like your family...or even your pets!) can be stored within one HealthVault account, but each person’s information is stored and accessed separately. HealthVault Search stores your health searches and results in confidential areas called scrapbooks, which can be accessed from anywhere you have an internet connection.
When you visit health.live.com, you have the option to sign in to HealthVault search by clicking the link on the top right of the page (on the green banner). You then sign in with your Windows Live ID, but you may be prompted to create a stronger password, if your password doesn't meet the minimum password requirements. Alternately, you can also go directly to www.healthvault.com, where all three HealthVault components are available: Search, Account, and Connection Center. The Connection Center is a nice feature, which lets you connect your HealthVault-compatible home health monitoring devices like sport watches, blood glucose monitors, peak flow meters and blood pressure monitors to the HealthVault Connection Center. The HealthVault software will then copy your device's data to your HealthVault record.
Addressing the privacy concerns of a service like this, Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation states: "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. 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.”