Take Google Health with You Anywhere

Google Health offers an online repository for personal health records. To-date, they were only accessible from a computer connected to the Internet. A new application from Anvita Health will allow users of Google Health to view their health records directly on their mobile phone.

There's no doubt that having the ability to check your medical records online is beneficial for patients and healthcare professionals alike. One problematic issue, however, is that you can't take those records with you, and won't necessarily have access to them in an instant should you need to look something up. That changes today.

The Anvita Mobile Viewer, from Anvita Health, allows users of Google Health to bring their personal health records directly to the point-of-care, supplying a more comprehensive data set for physicians, pharmacists, and other providers to employ in improving individual healthcare. Anvita is responsible for providing the back-end analytical power of Google Health, and can alert users to important data such as potentially harmful drug interactions and other preventative guidelines.

"We see the Google Health PHR as vital tool in allowing consumers to take a more active role in their own health care and the care of their families," said Ahmed Ghouri, MD, co-founder and chief medical officer of Anvita Health in a prepared statement. "The Anvita Mobile Viewer builds a bridge between the home and the doctor's office, and allows Google Health PHR users to realize the full value of their PHR data by taking it to where critical medical decisions are made."

The applications is a free download from the Android Market. One potentially limiting factor of this applications is that it only supports Google's Android mobile platform. Right now, that means just one handset, the HTC G1 available through T-Mobile. While more Android-based handset will be hitting the market over the coming year, Anvita doesn't help those using BlackBerries or Windows Mobile-based phones. Anvita did not say if or when it will work on other smartphones.