Microsoft Corp. and Siemens AG (through its Siemens IT Solutions and Services division) have announced the signing of a licensing agreement to introduce Microsoft HealthVault in Germany.

HealthVault, a personal health application platform, enables individuals to store their health information including immunizations, disease history and prescriptions in an online account. The vision of the Microsoft-Siemens relationship is to enable German citizens to connect to various systems run by physicians, hospitals, pharmacies and even fitness facilities for a comprehensive view of their personal health information. Siemens will be the exclusive operator of HealthVault in Germany and will market the platform to developers, application providers and device manufacturers to join the service and provide citizens with tools that will help foster dynamic, trusted and personalized healthcare.

The security-enhanced platform enables individuals to confidentially manage their personal health data. Users are able to access their data virtually anytime, from anywhere, and decide for themselves who is granted access to the information. Siemens will host all stored health data in security-enhanced data centers in Germany. To help protect consumer privacy, user data is transmitted through an encrypted connection over the internet. As their own health managers, users keep control of the information stored in HealthVault and can decide the people who are permitted access.

Microsoft initially launched HealthVault in the United States in 2007. Germany is now the third country worldwide where the platform will be available. With the operation of this platform, Siemens IT Solutions and Services is expanding its eHealth portfolio and opening up ways for organizations in the German healthcare sector and the fitness and wellness industry to develop citizen services based on this technology. In the United States, over 150 companies, ranging from health insurance companies and manufacturers of medical devices to pharmacies, are currently offering online applications for the HealthVault platform.