Digitizing Healthcare

Microsoft and Google, the Hatfields and McCoys of the high-tech industry, are both racing to digitize health care.

This race could eventually provide patients the right to control their own personal health information. But it's also just another example of why more seniors will need to become comfortable and proficient with computers and the Internet.

The article paints a typical scenario in which digital health records could come in handy. Say a person is out of town and gets sick, and goes to an urgent-care clinic or emergency room. The doctors there have no idea about that person's allergies, medical history, or other information. They must therefore rely on whatever the patient can remember and write down. But with the electronic health records, information for each patient will be easily accessed. Of course, the idea of a digital health record has also stirred privacy fears.

What does everyone in the SeniorPlanet community think?