Google on Tuesday said Adam Bosworth, its vice president overseeing all health-related projects, is leaving the company to pursue other interests, Reuters/Washington Post reports.
Bosworth joined Google three years ago, and Google watchers thought he would work on a major new health service for the search engine. However, Google has only introduced Google Co-op, which allows users to tag or classify specialized types of data, including health information.
Speculation since last year has centered on ideas ranging from a health information search service to a personal health record for Google users, but neither has been launched (Auchard, Reuters/Washington Post, 9/12).
Bosworth in a series of speeches last year also focused on providing consumers with relevant health information, personal health data controls and community features for discussing health issues with other consumers and medical experts (Delaney, Wall Street Journal, 9/12).
Marissa Mayer, who leads Google's core search products business, will run the health team until a new leader takes over the position. "Google is moving forward with work on our health products," the company said (Reuters/Washington Post, 9/12).
A prototype of Google Health was released in August, although Google's plan to create an Internet health tool has been delayed and likely will not be introduced until next year (iHealthBeat, 8/14).