Would you trust Google with your medical records?

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is an initial partner with Google on a GMail-like system designed to give consumers easy access to all their medical records - and background information on any conditions, drug interactions and the like (and also targeted ads?). Medical Center CIO John Halamka explains the system, including ways patient data will remain confidential.

Mark Baard, a Beth Israel patient, immediately signed up. Didn't work - his records didn't transfer over.

... I deleted my Google Health account after this failed experiment. I will eat my hat if the data have truly been deleted from Google's databases.

Any possible benefits to consumers from Google Health clearly outweigh the privacy risks at this point. ...