Ex-Googler Launches Startup To Deliver Personalized Health AdviceEx-Googler Launches Startup To Deliver Personalized Health Advice

The former head of the Google Health team has launched a startup designed to allow people to get personalized medical advice on the Internet, based on their own e-health records. If it catches on, the service will accelerate the trend of people using Internet research to take charge of their own healthcare. That trend is both a help and a hindrance to healthcare providers, depending on the kind of information patients find online, and what the patients do with that information.The vast majority of healthcare decisions, 80% or more, aren't made by medical professionals. They're made by individuals, making their own choices about diet and exercise and managing--or not managing--chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. The new company, called Keas, is designed to help individuals take better charge of their own healthcare, by giving them access to better information, according to a report in the New York Times.