Some customers of Kaiser Permanente received e-mail messages meant for other customers when the company upgraded its Web site. Some of the messages reportedly contained confidential personal and medical information. Officials at Kaiser, which is one of the largest health insurers in the United States, emphasized that the problem did not involve a security breach of Kaiser's computer system. The college hopes to also market the program in other European countries, the Middle East, and the Far East. The site said a survey completed by about 15,000 users indicated that 56 percent would pay for personalized, anonymous health information.
Analysts are skeptical.
Yet companies that are trying to integrate the Internet into doctors' practices are having trouble coordinating all the necessary components, making existing systems both costly and time consuming. Some of the biggest Internet pharmacies have seen their stock plunge, bringing them to the brink of death. Yet some of those in the most trouble are likely to be the survivors when the industry shakeout ends. Fluoridation reduces tooth decay, but opponents claim it also might be responsible for everything from cancer to low IQs. Fully nine percent of those surveyed said the Internet was their primary source of health information, compared to 33 percent who said their physician was their main source.