by Jared Reed  

As government and health bureaucrats dither over adoption of e-health, the clever thinkers at Google have already developed an online site where people can create and upload ‘advance care directives’.  

The Google Health site, which already offers free 100MB online storage for personal medical records, has now teamed up with a hospice and palliative care group to offer patients create and store a “living will”.  

On its website, Google says it will provide a free, downloadable template that patients can complete, scan, and upload to Google Health and then arrange to share with their doctor and other caregivers.  

It’s not quite clear if the US-centric documents would be binding in Australia; but Google claims they will help take away the guesswork for families and healthcare providers as to an individual’s preferences at the end of life.  

Speaking with Medgadget, registered nurse and program manager for Google Health, Julie Wilner, said: [Advance Directives are] documents that are integral for families who are dealing with terminal illnesses or difficult end-of-life situations. Not having a signed and readily available Advance Directive can cause problems for families and medical professionals who are trying to navigate difficult times."  

Google says that patients need to have a user account before they can share the information in their Google Health account with their doctor or caregiver. Importantly, only the user can edit their information.