On Wednesday, Google announced a Health Advisory Council to “help [Google] better understand the problems consumers and providers face every day and offer feedback on product ideas and development.”
Unfortunately for Google, their little council of just 21 members leaves out so many components, professions and wide swaths of understanding “health,” it’s almost being seen as either a joke or a naive first step into this field.
The blogosphere is justifiably upset. No medical librarians. No nurses. No medical bloggers (not that I would expect them to be there). Apparently just one patient advocate. And while 13 MDs are represented, only one Ph.D. is on the council.
And, needless to say, not a single psychologist or representative of mental health.
You would also think that, in this day and age, an entity as large as Google would know that the “mind” is inextricably connected to the body. While doctors or the head of AMA know all about physical diseases and how big hospitals run things, they don’t know nearly as much about mental health, the mind, or how people grapple with mental health in America today. Given that mental health accounts for approximately 30% of all searches on health conditions online these days, I’m saddened and disappointed by Google’s decision to continue the stigmatization and devaluing of mental health concerns by suggesting there’s no place for them in this advisory group.
But hey, at least they got all those doctor group leaders on the council and that one patient advocate. Oh, and someone from Wal-Mart. Because, apparently, Wal-Mart knows as much about health provision as they do about selling low-cost diapers.
Sorry, but I think Google dropped the ball on this one. The council should’ve been twice as large and ensured it was made up of nearly as many patient advocacy groups (who, believe it or not, actually know quite a bit about health from the individual’s point of view) as professional groups representatives. And of course, there should be representation in there of mental health, doing it the justice it deserves.
Read the announcement: New advisory group on health
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6 Comments to
“Google Goofs on Health Advisory Board”
I feel a mental health professional should be on the board as well as more pts. But my biggest concern is something I found on another blog–Junkfood Science—is this just another form of censorship—will you still be directed to proper places—not just places they feel we should go to—Sandy was able to state is better than I so check out her post
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/06/information-firewall.html
To quote the Google blog:
“The mission of the Google Health Advisory Council is broadly to help us better understand the problems consumers and providers face every day and offer feedback on product ideas and development.”
You say that it looks like “either a joke or a naive first step”. They haven’t even attempted to make a first step. The purpose of the council is to decide whether or not a first step should be taken, and if so, what that step could be.
They don’t want a council of 300 Ph.D.s from every field of medicine because they’re not opening a hospital. They’re not even developing a specific product.
The only joke here is that I read and took the time to reply to this rubbish.
On the contrary, Google has been working on the “health” topic for more than a year, so this is not the first step into this area. They’ve also already been talking with many healthcare experts during this time, so although they have not had an official advisory council, it’s not like they are ignorant in this market.
Also, I didn’t propose a “council of 300 Ph.D.s,” I proposed a council of 42, half of which should be people representing, well, the people who actually get the health care delivered to them. I don’t trust docs or heads of corporations or doctor’s special interest groups to understand what it is to be a patient in today’s system. That’s why there are so many patient advocacy and policy organizations.
And while I have nothing but respect and admiration for those folks who treat or have gone through the treatment of cancer (as some of my family has), the only disease represented in this group is cancer. I’m not sure why, if I couldn’t represent a full spectrum of the kinds of diseases most Americans face, I’d pick just one to focus on. While cancer is a significant, well-known disease, there are others that affect more Americans and are far more preventable.
I have to disagree with Boyakasha. Google plays a huge role in delivering information to health consumers. The Health Advisory Council in it’s current form does not represent the face of health care. Health care is not ruled by the MD but rather is a multidisciplinary approach comprising of MDs, DOs, PAs, NPs, RNs, dietitians, physical therapists, social workers, and mental health providers. The Google Health Advisory Council is a sham!
Hi John,
Thank you for your moderate voice in this debate. Perhaps Google will invite some psychologists to focus groups along with the nurses, therapists and other health professionals (medical librarians) that they have forgotten in their first iteration of their advisory. - Dean
It looks like the Center for Nursing Advocacy has posted a response to Google regarding the lack of nurses on the Health Advisory Council. Now we just have to wait to see what Google’s response is.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 29 Jun 2007
