Last year Google started exploring management of medical information with clinics in the US. A patient can have information about themselves sent to their Google record and access it from anywhere.

"But as a lawyer, I would ask whether privilege might be disturbed," Sbarcea told BrightStar's information management seminar in Wellington last month, in an address entitled "The googlisation of everything". Information passed between a doctor and a patient is privileged. If a third party like Google becomes involved, then the information might lose that privilege and be able to be subpoenaed or accessed more easily, she says.

A Google Health record is bundled with a Gmail account -- potentially easing patient-doctor communication -- but Google should be asked about its access to that communication and how the information might be used, Sbarcea says.

"I'm not saying they will use it wrongly, but the questions should be asked," she says.

A Sydney-based Google spokesperson notes the debate is academic at present for Australia and New Zealand, since Google Health is currently only available to US residents. "Our goal is to put patients in control of their health information," says Google. "Google Health users decide what information to store in their account and choose who can view or edit their profile.