Online Medical Records

Stories of computer hackers stealing our personal information – or careless companies accidentally losing it – are among the downsides to living in the information age. Earlier this spring, 4.2 million Hannaford’s shoppers were told their bank accounts may be at risk if they’d recently swiped their cards at the checkout line.

Your credit card number is one thing, but who would willingly put their medical information at risk? Google, Microsoft, and WebMD are hoping you will. All three are launching online services that allow people to upload, store, and manage all their medical records online.

The companies say it’s a great way to give patients more power over their healthcare. But privacy and security concerns are not far behind. Martha Bebinger is a reporter at pubic radio station WBUR in Boston, and she’s been following the story.

(Photo by Taran Rampersad)