Health Vault = Compliance

I don’t know about you, but for me it's a challenge to keep up with the health information of myself and family. If you haven't seen it yet you should check out HealthVault. The current version allows you to collect, store and share health information with your family.

Ask yourself these questions: When was the last time you got a complete physical? What was the name of that medication (which did not sit well with your stomach) that you were taking last year? Have your kids received all their immunization shots? To which foods does your son have an allergy? When did your kids get their last dental and eye exams? During that trip you have planned next summer, how will medical providers be able access your medical information back home? How are you making sure that your aging mother and father get the treatment that they need? Has your teenage daughter received the HPV vaccine? When was the last time you got a tetanus shot?

HealthVault is a place where you can keep track of health information such as this and share it with your spouse and family. What's more, with something called HealthVault Connection Center you can upload and store data directly from a range of devices such as weight scales, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors and pedometers. Also, the data is very portable. For more information, see https://www.healthvault.com/Devices-Directory.htm?rmproc=true. HealthVault supports such standards as XML, HL7, the ASTM Continuity of Care Record (CCR), Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) and the Common Connectivity Device. The search portion of HealthVault permits you to search and find health information and then store it in a private HealthVault Scrapbook for future use. HealthVault even lets you store health records for your pets!

The best part of HealthVault is that you control who has access to your records. You can choose to share them with hospitals, doctors or other medical care providers. For example, see https://www.healthvault.com/hospitals/. I can view my medical records housed by participating providers and learn about my medical tests and test results.

To me, HealthVault is an example of a Microsoft GRC technology that goes beyond mere regulation compliance. It enables people to engage in better healthcare. It is effectively an extension of preventive medicine.

Knowledge is a powerful thing. A safe and updated storage of knowledge regarding the health of you and your family can help reduce health risks and health care costs.

Joe Scalone

jscalone@microsoft.com