HealthVault is a platform that allows users to store their health information online and use it whenever and wherever they want. Users can connect with their doctors, hospitals, employers, pharmacies, insurance providers and with their HealthVault-compatible devices—blood pressure monitors, heart rate monitors and more—to easily add information electronically to their HealthVault record. Users can also upload their data manually or use UNIVAL’s yourRecords service to have their paper-based medical records converted to electronic records by a trained nurse, then imported into their HealthVault record. Once online, they can safely and securely share their information with HealthVault-compatible online applications. Microsoft HealthVault puts end users in control of their data: users decide which applications get access to their data, and what kind of access these applications can get. For instance, a user can give Read and Write access to their pharmacy’s website for their HealthVault medication data, while only giving Read access to their physiotherapist’s patient portal for the same data. The following diagram shows how applications and devices connect to the HealthVault platform.

Figure 1: HealthVault Ecosystem

HealthVault also provides authentication services. When creating HealthVault accounts, users are asked to create or sign into a Windows Live ID or OpenID account, which is then used to authenticate them whenever they want to use a HealthVault service.

HealthVault is optimized for family health management. One family member (who we'll call the Family Health Manager) can create the main account, and then create multiple records for each member of the family within that account. The diagram below illustrates this, where the mom is the Family Health Manager. Notice that another user (Dad) can also have his own account and record, and give Mom or his personal trainer customized access to it. 

Figure 2: HealthVault Accounts and Records