Medical Data stored on the internet Mar 30, 2009 04:00 am
This post is about: Quicken Medical Expense Manager V1 2007
I'm chiming in a bit late here, sorry...
I have no problem either. In the past, records were accessible by so many companies and agencies and by so many different means the internet can't make things worse. About the only person who doesn't have full access to their own medical records - net or not - is usually the patient.
But seriously....
If a person's medical records were digitized (yes, some docs and label still use paper) and stored in some virtual central location, it would speed records access if a patient's history were needed if they became ill far from home. My current family doctor has access to my records through a a regional that most of my group of docs - neurologist, eye doctor, etc - also subscribe to and store records. Any doctor who is part of that association has instant access to my records from any other doctor - unlike the past where it's taken a month or more to get my medical records from one particular doctor to another.
I know all that isn't *specifically* on topic for the QMEM forum, but I felt I had to comment on my not being so worried about it.
Your medical data sounds secure and confidential. I was wondering about uploading my own medical data to Google Health or MS Vault. Those internet sites will keep the data but from my understanding, it can be used for aggregate purposes. I also know that data on the web is sold for marketing too. Unfortunately, free services that keep data on the web, can and do sell the information.
My bigger issue is accessibility and functionality. What I like about quicken is that I have the data on my home pc that I can access whenever I want. And, my home pc is on a network so I can get to it from any computer in my house. If I needed the data outside the network, I'm sure I could install a VPN. Also, I like having an interface (quicken) that I'm familiar with. Though my bank data is on the web, like my credit card data, and insurance records, that data is only available if those websites are up. And, each of those websites has a different interface which makes accessing the data more difficult and cumbersome by having to learn a different interface for each website.
I like your idea of have a paid third party keep my data so it is accessible from anywhere and to whomever needs it. But, I also want my data locally available so I'm not at the mercy of a website or interface that can go down or change functionality.
My spouse worked for the Defense Dept. He told me to never put personal information on any website that I did not want known to others. It is only private on the specific site to give it to. It is the portals that you go through that are open to hackers!
He ought to know, it was his branch that gave the internet to the public. His name is downtown in D.C. in the museum.
You're right. But what choose do we have? Does your spouse have any ideas? I've read some awful stuff about Google recently which is my current web browser. Google's CEO Eric Schmidt has no scruples when it comes to using the data Google collects for profit and control. I hope the government gets serious about securing our privacy.
As for your other issue, can you connect the laptop to your old computer? If so, backup the data from the old computer and restore to laptop. All your data will be on the laptop.
Forums