A group consisting of Insurers, Health Care Providers, and IT companies (including Microsoft and Google) are endorsing a set of privacy standards meant to protect online medical records. "Consumer demand for electronic personal health records and online health services will take off when consumers trust that personal information will be protected," Zoe Baird, President Markle Foundation'. The Markle Foundation has been in charge of organizing a concensus framework known as "Connecting For Health". Take up of online health services has been slow with only 6.1 million adults in the United States having electronic personal health records, according to estimates released by the Markle Foundation, securing data would seem to be the biggest hurdle to consumer confidence. See this CNET News post for more details.
