Microsoft's recent purchase medical search engine Medstory, and Google's investment into genetic profiling company 23andMe could mean that contextual advertisements will soon start appearing on people's medical records, a UK-based health care analyst warned today.
Wireless Healthcare forecast patients gaining access to their genetic profile and managing their health using an online patient record, but they expressed doubts about the efficacy of banner advertisements as revenue model for companies that offer such services.
"We are seeing the emergence of a new ehealth model that challenges some of the assumptions made by existing online healthcare providers and medical device manufacturers," said Peter Kruger, an analyst with Wireless Healthcare, explained. "This new model impacts not only on how diseases are diagnosed but also the way healthcare is delivered and ehealth services are funded."
Kruger is sceptical as to whether the advertising on personal health records will be readily accepted by patients and regulators.
"Advertising and healthcare do not mix well and this issue is already proving to be controversial," said Kruger. "I am sure that regulators would be unhappy if banner advertisements started to appear on a patient's online medical record or diagnosis."
Microsoft purchased Medstory, a vertical health search engine that can be layered on top of a general search engine to provide intelligent query refinement “guides," in February.
Privately held, early stage personal genetics company 23andMe received Series A Preferred Stock Financing from Google in May.
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