Storing your health records online? Better get a second opinion.

Seems like a good idea, right? All of your personal health info consolidated on a nice, tidy site that's easy to update and maintain. Maybe it's even free.

Not so fast, Sparky.

In Health data storage sites might not be secure, On SFGate.com, Deborah Gage writes that the World Privacy Forum, a non-profit group based in San Diego, California, "is warning consumers about the potential pitfalls of using newly popular services that consolidate personal health records - especially when they're kept by companies that are not subject to current federal regulations on privacy and security."

You mean, like, accessible by anyone?

OMG!

Here's the skinny:

Physicians, hospitals, insurance companies - in general, all firms that, one way or another, bill for medical services - have to comply with federal privacy and security standards regulation set out in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.

The bad news is that when it comes to other companies that want you to store your sensitive medical information online, it's like the Old West. There are no guarantees that your data won't be shared, marketed or otherwise exploited - even if the company claims to be "HIPAA-compliant"!

But wait - there's more!!!

Remember the old standby of doctor-patient confidentiality? Gone with the wind - and apparently, nobody at these firms has a legal obligation to give a damn as long as there's a loophole in their corporate privacy policies.

And, like some folks on MySpace and other social networking sites have discovered, there's one unavoidable risk when online data is stored with anything less that vault-like security and guaranteed privacy: Once you upload it, it's there for the world to see. This means that even if you update those files, the previous data can still be found with a simple Web search.

Bottom line? Be afraid...be very afraid.

Unless you rely on iForem.