American Medical Records Accessible Via Google, Here’s How To Remove Them

Medical records are supposed to be private documents that are only for the eyes of medical professionals in charge of the respective patients. However, it turns out that these records can actually be viewed by anyone if they simply go to Google. Fortunately, there are ways to make sure that these documents stay private and away from prying eyes.

Hard as it may be to believe, absolutely anyone can actually go to Google, type out particular words that apply to particular people and find their private medical records. Before now, the search engine company has been reticent to remove any information from its results, Digital Trends reports. Fortunately, the firm is now providing users with the option to do so with their own records.

These changes were applied without fanfare, likely in an effort to avoid a publicity nightmare. When visiting Google’s Removal Policies page, users can find the option to remove medical records from the private information section.

Considering the mounting threat of hackers and ransomware of late, addressing this particular vulnerability is of huge importance. Having personal medical records stolen is a serious matter and one that could seriously damage someone’s reputation, career, or life if the documents fall into the wrong hands.

As to how users can actually have their records removed, the first thing they need to do is confirm that their records are indeed accessible via Google search, Tech Times reports. They can do this by typing their name in the search box and look for pertinent results that indicate public access to the documents.

Once the records are found, users need to copy the URL of the page where their documents are found, go to Google support page and follow the instructions. For anyone wondering if they should even go through all this trouble, the answer is yes. Broadly speaking, users should never have any information on the web that they did not wish to share. Less incriminating information means less risk of becoming a victim.