Google
(NASDAQ:GOOG) is closing Google Health and Google PowerMeter, two Web services
for which the search giant held high hopes that failed to catch on over the last few
years.
Launched
in May 2008, Google Health was the company's effort to help people access their
personal health records online, no matter where they are, from any computing
device, through a secure portal.
"Now,
with a few years of experience, we've observed that Google Health is not having
the broad impact that we hoped it would," wrote
Google Health Senior Product Manager Aaron Brown June 24.
"There has
been adoption among certain groups of users like tech-savvy patients and their
caregivers, and more recently fitness and wellness enthusiasts. But we haven't
found a way to translate that limited usage into widespread adoption in the
daily health routines of millions of people," he said.
The Google Health
portal will be closed Jan. 1, 2012, though users may download their health data
through Jan. 1, 2013. Google Health data will be deleted after that point.
Users may
download their records to a printable PDF; a CCR (Continuity of Care Record)
XML that can be imported into other personal health tools such as Microsoft
HealthVault; CSV (comma-separated value) files that can be imported into
spreadsheets and database programs; and via a ZIP archive.
Some folks
were leery about entrusting their personal health care records to Google, but
the fact is that the service never caught on because the vast majority of
people simply aren't ready or willing to store and access their records online.
As with Google Wave and other services, the search engine has shuttered, Google
Health was ahead of its time.
The last time
Health was updated
was back in September 2010, with a redesign that included a dashboard for
wellness tracking. Shortly before taking the CEO reins, Larry Page was reportedly
intent on sunsetting Health. That brings us to the present.
Launched in
February 2009, Google
PowerMeter is a Google.org project to help consumers track their daily home
energy usage in real time from an iGoogle gadget on their computers.
The tool, which draws
information from a home smart meter, was tested
by utility companies in California, Texas, Florida, India, Wisconsin, Missouri,
Canada and Kentucky.
Google's Green
Energy Czar Bill Weihl noted that since launching the product, people are
paying more attention to tracking their energy consumption, with the notion of
smart meters and other home-energy devices gaining steam in California and
Texas.
"We're
pleased that PowerMeter has helped demonstrate the importance of this access
and created something of a model. However, our efforts have not scaled as
quickly as we would like, so we are retiring the service," Weihl said.
PowerMeter
users will have access to the tool until September 16, 2011, though users may
download their data by logging in to their account and going to "Account
Settings" to export to a CSV file.
Ironically,
Google's sunsetting of PowerMeter comes as the company had revved up its green
energy spending, which surpassed
$780 million after a fresh, $102 million infusion in the Alta Wind
Energy Center last week.
/ 5 
Health Care IT News & Reviews 
