Google service to aid doctors, report says

Google is planning a service that will provide doctors, patients and health care providers with a way to manage medical information over the Web, according to the VC Ratings blog on The Deal Web site. Consumers will be able to log in and do things like check their medical records, add providers and pay bills.

The search giant is pitching WebMD and hoping to partner with Intuit on Google Health Scrapbook, the blog says. Former Microsoft engineer Adam Bosworth is rumored to be directing Google's health initiatives and Missy Krasner, previously a top official in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, is a manager on the project, according to the blog.

Google provided the same vague no-answer answer to CNET News.com when asked to confirm the report that it gave to the blog writer: "Health has been an area of interest at Google for some time. We have been doing a variety of research in the health area, including how to improve the quality of health-related search results. Google Co-op is one reflection of that. We continue to look for more ways to benefit our users in the area of health, but we do not have any products to announce at this time. As part of our efforts, we work with many companies in formal and informal ways."

Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck mentioned the blog posting in a research note released on Monday. "We think Google isn't done yet on its health initiatives, and that there is a lot of information to be captured as doctors move further away from the old manila folder filing system," he wrote.