By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Google’s Blind Date with Consumer Health
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > Google’s Blind Date with Consumer Health
BusinesseHealthSocial Media

Google’s Blind Date with Consumer Health

Kenneth Walz
Kenneth Walz
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Even great athletes – like Rafael Nadal at this year’s Wimbledon Championships – suffer setbacks and losses at times.

Even great athletes – like Rafael Nadal at this year’s Wimbledon Championships – suffer setbacks and losses at times. Thus, we shouldn’t be too hard on Google for the recent downfall of Google Health, although we may analyze it and look for lessons learned just as Rafael surely does after a losing match.

The Google Health downfall carries with it a long chain of assumptions: everything ranging from design clumsiness to the search engine giant’s inability to bring the medical community into its fold. MIT’s own Technology Review chalked up the failure to the nation’s broken medical system and a recent article in Mobihealthnews (“10 Reasons Why Google Failed”) outlined it so clearly that you could use it for study in a Business 101 class.

Putting all other missteps aside, I believe many companies veer off track in the earliest phases of product planning. Large corporations, by virtue of pure muscle, sometimes are further burdened when they think they can create a need where one simply doesn’t exist. In this case, Google miscalculated whose problem it was they were actually trying to address.

More Read

AARP Under Investigation
Unlocking a Patient’s Comprehensive “Clinical Narrative” Is Critical to ACO Enablement
Medical Costs Could Fall by $36 Billion Annually With Price Transparency
Kindred Healthcare Inc. To Pay $125 Million to Settle Allegations of False Claims
Reaching Women Through Health IT: Introducing Gabby

Consumer-based electronic medical records have been a Holy Grail quest in the medical community for at least a half dozen years. Online medical records offer central efficiency for medical and drug providers, cost savings in online storage for hospitals and small offices, and a virtual file cabinet for patients that want to have their medical histories (at least the part of it to which they have been granted access) at their fingertips.

But the central question remains, “What does the consumer really want?”

Plain and simple: She wants easy-access to information, a bit of fun, and social connection. If it’s practical, it has to be practical with the additional benefit of providing even more connection and enjoyment, more readily, or must yield huge savings in time and/or money. An application that can do all of these things would be a “killer app.” An example outside of the medical realm is Twitter—a product providing many people with a customized news stream, making the process of staying informed easier and more efficient while also allowing for easy dialogue with ones peers.

So the demise of Google Health offers tremendous insights for the life science industry, especially as we strive to develop and place new products in an increasingly complex consumer/patient marketplace. We also have to wonder about what Google has learned from this endeavor. Do you think the company will begin to probe a bit more into what consumers actually want the next time? What companies could serve as role models for Google if it decides to remain in the consumer health space?

We’d love to hear your ideas here.


This post originally appeared on the Popper and Company blog.

TAGGED:Google healthlife science industrylife sciences
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

contamination
Batch Failures And The Hidden Costs Of Contamination
Health Infographics
October 21, 2025
Medication Management For Seniors
Simplifying Medication Management For Seniors
Infographics Senior Care
October 21, 2025
Guide To Pursuing a Career in Nursing as a Foreigner in the USA
Collaboration Is the Prescription for Better Patient Care
Health
October 20, 2025
Epidemiological Health Benefits
Personal and Epidemiological Health Benefits of Blood Pressure Management
Health
October 13, 2025

You Might also Like

debunking-myths-myth2_1.png
DiagnosticseHealthMedical Ethics

Debunking Digital Patient Recruitment Myths for Clinical Trials: Myth #2

April 7, 2016
laptop-1385702_1920.jpg
eHealthMedical Records

Why Digital Ads Are a Game Changer for Clinical Trial Enrollment Efficiency

June 23, 2016

Revenue Cycle Management in Healthcare: Managing Insurance Denials

September 3, 2014

Small Airplane Crashes Into Community Hospital In Northern California

July 8, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?