Google removes private medical records from search results

Personal medical records are supposed to stay between you and your doctor, but in a digital age that's not always what happens.

Healthcare systems get hacked, insurance providers suffer massive data breaches, and clerical errors lead to medical records being put up online for the world to see, and more importantly search for. Keeping your medical records private is something protected by law in many parts of the world, including HIPAA privacy laws in the United States, so it makes some sense that Google is removing confidential medical records from its search results.

The category was added to the list of content Google removes from searches this week, with confidential media information joining revenge porn on the list of removed content. Considering the damage people can do if they find your medical records (especially since many medical records are tied to a person's social security number), it's not that shocking to see it added to the list. Does this mean the information won't show up somewhere, somehow on the internet? No, but it does mean that when and if it does, it's going to be much harder for people to find it.

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