Tectonic Shifts in the Health Information Economy
Kenneth D. Mandl, M.D., M.P.H. and Isaac S. Kohane, M.D., Ph.D.

"In a recent shift in the health information landscape, large corporations are seeking an integral and transformative role in the management of healthcare information. The mechanism by which this transformation is likely to take place is through the creations of computer platforms that will enable patients to manage health data in personally controlled health records (PCHRs). Two types of large corporations are involved. Technology companies such as Google and Microsoft see business opportunities, whereas Fortune 100 companies in their role as employers see efficiencies and cost savings when patients can securely store, access, augment, and share their own copy of electronic health information. Though this shift in the locus of control of health information is driven largely by7 a need to provide assistance with clinical care processes, it will also profoundly affect the biomedical research enterprise."

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