With Microsoft HealthVault the patient himself acquires control of his health information, which he can share and update easily.
Healthcare is complex and patient information is quite widely distributed. One patient has files at different doctors, hospitals, institutions and pharmacists. Appropriate information for ‘self care’, such as for nutrition and movement, is rarely or never available. Mark Johnston, Business Development Microsoft Corporate, explains that this is why Microsoft developed HealthVault, a flexible, patient-focused health platform. As a result the patient personally acquires control of his or her health information, which is stored centrally and can be shared and updated simply.
The HealthVault platform is linked to various applications (weighing scales, heart rate meter, blood pressure meter, etc.) and the stored information is shared with healthcare and health staff such as doctors, dieticians, personal trainers, etc. HealthVault allows people to consolidate their own health information, which means that they can work more actively on their physical condition and obtain a better insight into their health. They can therefore reduce possibilities of illness proactively. Because health is primarily a question of personal motivation.
