using devices with microsoft...

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Using Devices with

Microsoft HealthVault

A Microsoft®

HealthVault™ Step-by-Step Guide

This guide will help you get started using Microsoft HealthVault

Connection Center to send information from your health and fitness

devices to Microsoft HealthVault.

We’ll show you how to:

Install Microsoft HealthVault Connection Center on your

computer

Prepare your devices to work with Connection Center

Use Connection Center to send readings from your devices to

your Microsoft HealthVault account

Customize Connection Center and use its main features

Using Devices with Microsoft HealthVault 2

Introduction

Welcome to Microsoft HealthVault and Microsoft

HealthVault Connection Center!

Connection Center is a program that runs on your computer and enables you to send

readings from health and fitness devices electronically to your HealthVault account,

where you can track and analyze your data.

How it works

Use a device to take

readings

Send readings via

Connection

Center to your

HealthVault

account

Track and

analyze

your data online

With the data from your devices stored online in your HealthVault account, you can

access it anytime from anywhere you use the internet, and you can use it in

HealthVault-connected online health and fitness tools.


What you’ll need

To upload data from a device to a HealthVault account using Connection Center, you’ll

need:

A personal computer.

An internet connection.

A HealthVault-compatible health and fitness device with at least one reading

and, depending on the device, the cable that connects the device to your

computer.

To view the list of devices that are compatible with HealthVault, visit the

HealthVault Devices directory. Go to http://healthvault.com, click the Health

tools and devices tab, and there click the Devices tab.

A HealthVault account. If you don’t yet have an account, go to the

HealthVault home page at http://www.healthvault.com and click Create a

free account.

Note

When you create a HealthVault account, you automatically create a record for yourself.

If you plan to upload device data for other family members, add a record in your

HealthVault account for each of them so that data for different people won’t get mixed

together.

Glossary

Let's take a quick look at some of the terms used in this guide.

Microsoft HealthVault

Microsoft HealthVault is an internet-based service that offers you a way to store health

information from many sources in one location, so that it's conveniently organized and

available to you. In one HealthVault account, you can store information for an individual

or for the entire family.

http://healthvault.com/

http://www.healthvault.com/


Glossary (cont'd)

Microsoft HealthVault Connection Center

Microsoft HealthVault Connection Center is an easy-to-use program that you install on

your computer. You can think of it as a bridge between your devices and your

HealthVault account. Connection Center first imports readings from your device to your

computer, then uploads the data over the internet to your HealthVault account.

Health and fitness devices

In this guide, we're talking specifically about measuring devices that can connect to your

computer and that are compatible with HealthVault. A variety of these devices are

available, including pedometers, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose meters, and

many more.

To view the list of devices that are compatible with HealthVault, visit the HealthVault

Devices directory. Go to http://healthvault.com, click the Health tools and devices tab,

and on that page click the Devices tab.

Readings and data

In this guide, we’ll refer to a measurement on a health or fitness device as a reading.

When a reading has been sent from your device via Connection Center to your

HealthVault account, we’ll generally refer to it as data.

Person, record, and user

You can use your HealthVault account to store health information for more than one

person, such as yourself and other family members. You create a unique record in your

HealthVault account to store information for each person.

Some health and fitness devices can take readings for more than one person; that is, a

device may have more than one user. Connection Center lets you match each user of a

device with the correct record in your HealthVault account so that each reading is stored

in the right person’s HealthVault record.

Upload and download

When you send readings from your device via your computer and over the internet to

your HealthVault account, you’re uploading data. When HealthVault sends data over the

internet to your computer, you’re downloading data.

http://healthvault.com/


Install Microsoft HealthVault Connection Center

Connection Center is a program that you add to your computer in two steps:

Step 1: Download Connection Center from the HealthVault website.

Step 2: Install Connection Center on your computer.

Step 1: Download Connection Center

When you download software, the installation files for the software are copied to a

temporary location on your computer. This is not the same as installing the software; it’s

a preliminary step.

To download Connection Center:

1. Go to the HealthVault home page and click the Learn about HealthVault tab, or

go to http://www.healthvault.com/personal/devices-overview.aspx.

2. Click System Requirements and make sure your computer can run Connection

Center.

3. Go back to the Learn about HealthVault tab and click Install Connection

Center.

4. As the download begins, a security message may appear. Read the From line in

the message to verify that the file you’re about to download is from Microsoft,

and then click Run or Open.

5. Security messages like these help you keep your computer safe from viruses and

other malicious software.

6. After you click Run or Open, Connection Center is downloaded to your

computer.

7. When the download is complete, another security warning appears asking if you

want to run Connection Center. Read the Publisher line to verify that Microsoft is

the publisher, and then click Run.

http://www.healthvault.com/personal/devices-overview.aspx


8. If a User Account Control message appears, click Yes to allow the program to

make changes to your computer. (If this message doesn't appear, that's okay.)

Step 2: Install Connection Center

When the download is complete, the Microsoft HealthVault Connection Center Setup

wizard opens automatically.

The wizard helps you install Connection Center. On each screen in the wizard, choose

the setting that you want, and then click Next to move to the next screen. (On some

screens, the Next button isn’t available until you have made a selection.) If you want to

change a setting on a previous wizard screen, click Back. On the last screen, click Finish

to complete the installation.

The following topics provide more information about important screens in the setup

wizard.

Customer Experience Improvement Program

With the Customer Experience Improvement Program, we gather anonymous

information about how Microsoft software works in order to improve product quality.

No medical information is collected. Participation in the program is optional and you

can change your selection later.


Click the links to learn more about the program and its privacy provisions. Click Yes if

you want to participate, or No if you don’t, and then click Next.

End User License Agreement

Read over the software license terms, and then, if you agree to the terms, select the I

accept the terms of the license agreement check box.

Note

When you click Next on this wizard screen, the installation starts. Installation takes only

a few minutes. When the wizard indicates that the installation was successful, click

Finish.

After installation is finished

Connection Center starts automatically. Which screen you see depends on whether

you’ve previously used Connection Center and for what tasks.

If this is true: You see this screen: And your next step is:

You’ve never used

Connection Center

before.

Click Add a device. Then

proceed to the next section,

Add your device to Connection

Center.



You’ve used

Connection Center

but don’t currently

have any devices

prepared to work

with it.

Click Select a task and then

click Add a device.

Then, proceed to the next

section, Add your device to

Connection Center.

A HealthVault

compatible device

has previously been

used with

Connection Center

on your computer,

but isn’t currently

connected.

To use the device shown near

the top of the screen, connect

the device as described in the

next section, Add your device

to Connection Center.

To use a different device, click

Select a task. Connection

Center displays a list of devices

that have been used

previously. If the device you

want to use is in the list, select

it, and then connect it. If not,

click Add a device.

Proceed to the next section,


Center.



A HealthVault-

compatible device is

connected to your

computer.

To use the device shown near

the top of the screen, skip

ahead to the section called

Allow Connection Center to

access HealthVault.

To use a different device, click

Select a task. Connection

Center displays a list of devices

that have been used

previously. If the device you

want to use is in the list, select

it. If not, click Add a device.

Proceed to the next section,


Center.

You’ve previously

used Connection

Center with medical

images.

The screen you see depends on your most

recent task.

Click Select a task, then click

Add a device. Proceed to the

next section, Add your device

to Connection Center.

Note

The device manufacture shown in the images above, Fabrikam, is not a real

manufacturer.

Add your device to Connection Center

You’ve created a HealthVault account and installed Connection Center on your

computer. Now you’re ready to add your device to Connection Center.

Important

If your device came with a software CD, set aside the CD and follow this guide and the

onscreen instructions in Connection Center. For some devices, Connection Center may

call for the manufacturer's CD; use it only then.

Adding a device means adding device-specific software, called a driver, to your

computer. The driver lets Connection Center “talk” to your device, so that


Connection Center can import readings from your device to your computer and then

upload them via the internet to your HealthVault account. You install a driver for each

device you use with Connection Center.

In this section you’ll learn how to add a device to Connection Center by following these

steps:

Step 1: Set up your device

Step 2: Connect your device to your computer

Step 3: Install the driver for your device to work with Connection Center

Step 1: Set up your device

Use the instructions provided by the device manufacturer to set up your device so that it

can take readings and connect to a computer.

Device setup may include inserting batteries or plugging the device into an electrical

source, entering information about yourself (such as your height, weight, age, and so

on), and selecting device settings.

Important

Be sure to set the correct date and time on the device. HealthVault uses dates

and times to identify each item of data, to build graphs, and more.

Check the device manual for the settings your device requires while

connected to your computer and while installing driver software.

However, as instructed above: If your device came with a software CD, set

aside the CD and use it only if the onscreen instructions in Connection Center

call for it.


Step 2: Connect your device to your computer

1. Make sure that Connection Center is running and the Connection Center window

is visible.

If you see this on the taskbar: This is true:

A button with the HealthVault logo.

Depending on your system settings, you may

see more or less of the button, and the

background may be a different color.

Connection Center is open, though it

may not be in the active window.

To make Connection Center the active window,

click the button.

The HealthVault logo in the notification area.

The notification area appears on the taskbar,

near the clock. You may need to click a small

arrow to show hidden icons.

Connection Center is running in the background

(not open, but still available).

To open Connection Center, double-click

the icon in the notification area.

Neither button is visible on the taskbar.

Connection Center isn’t running

To start Connection Center, click Start,

click All Programs or Programs, click

Microsoft HealthVault, and then click

Microsoft HealthVault Connection Center.

Note

The taskbar is the long bar on your computer screen (probably at the bottom)

that contains the Start button and the clock.

2. Connect your device to your computer. Most devices use a USB connection.


Connect a USB device

You connect a USB cable to your computer by inserting a rectangular plug into a narrow

slot—called a USB port—on your computer. The following picture shows the end of the

USB cable that attaches to your computer. It also shows two USB ports.

As the picture indicates, your computer probably has more than one USB port. These

may be located on the front or back of a desktop computer, or on any side of a laptop

computer. Use the port that is most convenient for you.

Important

The USB cable can attach to the port only one way. If the plug doesn’t slide in easily, try

flipping it over.

If the other end of the cable isn’t already attached to the device, plug it in there. If you

need instructions, refer to the documentation that came with the device.

When both ends of the cable are attached, Microsoft® Windows® detects the device. If

necessary, Windows automatically installs a driver that enables your device to work with

your computer and briefly displays a notification on the taskbar.

Important

This driver is not the driver that enables your device to work with Connection Center.

You’ll add that driver next.


Step 3: Install the driver for your device to work

with Connection Center

Now that you’ve connected your device, you’re ready to install the driver software that

enables your device to work with Connection Center.

In most cases, Connection Center automatically detects your device and displays a

screen with the heading Add your device to Connection Center. Click Add.


Note

If Connection Center doesn’t detect your device, you see this screen instead:

In this case, wait a few moments. Then, if the screen doesn’t change (nothing happens),

follow the onscreen prompts to Try another way to find your device. If your device is

compatible with HealthVault, you’ll be able to add it.

Connection Center starts the installation of the driver software.

Follow the onscreen instructions, which may vary depending on the device. For example:

You may be instructed to insert the CD that accompanied the device. Please use

the CD only in this case.

You may be instructed to go to the device manufacturer’s website to complete

certain steps. When you’re finished at the website, return to the Connection

Center window and continue.

There may be a setup wizard to help you install the driver. Simply make the

selections required on each screen and click Next to continue.

During driver installation, a User Account Control message may appear. Allow

the software to install.


Allow Connection Center to access HealthVault

With your device connected to your computer and the driver for Connection Center

added, the last stage in preparing to upload your device data is to allow Connection

Center to access your HealthVault account.

Step 1: Go online to HealthVault

When you’ve finished adding your first device, Connection Center displays this screen:

Click Go online to HealthVault, and then sign in to your account.

Note

If you’ve previously used Connection Center with medical images, it’s possible you’ve

already allowed it to access device-related information in your HealthVault account. If

so, you don’t see this screen. You can skip ahead to Upload your device data to

HealthVault.


Step 2: Select family members in HealthVault

When you’ve signed in, HealthVault displays a page similar to the one below, and asks

you to select the people whose information Connection Center will be able to access.

Select the check box next to each person who uses devices, and then click Continue.

In the example above, the check boxes for John and Maria are both selected, so

Connection Center will be able to upload information for both people.


Step 3: Allow Connection Center to access

information

Next, a page appears where you can specify the types of information you’ll allow

Connection Center to access in the HealthVault record for one of the family members

you selected. (This step repeats for each family member you selected.)

Review the types of information selected, and then click Allow access. (You may need

to scroll to see the entire page.)

Important

For best results and to facilitate working in the future with other devices and

medical images, we recommend leaving all of the check boxes selected.

Over time, you may occasionally be asked to renew Connection Center access to

HealthVault in order to take advantage of new software features.

HealthVault automatically prompts you to repeat this step for each family member you

selected in Step 2 above.


When you’ve finished, you may see security messages asking you to allow opening a

program and content on your computer. Click Allow. You’ll see the Connection Center

window. (If you don’t see Connection Center in a window, click the Connection Center

icon on your taskbar.)

When Connection Center opens, HealthVault updates Connection Center with the new

information about its access to your account. During this update, you may see a screen

that looks like this:

You don’t need do anything in response to this screen. When the update is complete,

Connection Center is ready to upload from your device.

Upload your device data to HealthVault

Now that you’ve prepared your device to work with Connection Center and you’ve

given Connection Center access to HealthVault, you can begin to upload from your

device. (Make sure your device is connected to your computer.)

Step 1: Select a person

When you’re ready to upload new readings from a device, you first specify which

person’s HealthVault record you want to use to store the data.


Single-user devices

If the device stores readings for only one user, Connection Center displays a screen that

looks something like this:

More information

When you’re uploading from a device for the first time, and if you’ve given

Connection Center access to more than one person’s HealthVault record, the

screen will look like the one shown. Click the arrow to see the people whose

records Connection Center can access, and then select the person you want.

If you’ve given Connection Center access to only one person’s HealthVault record

for device data, that person is already selected.

If the person you want isn’t in the list, in the Tools menu at the upper right, click

Add a person. Sign in to HealthVault and, if necessary, add the person to your

account. Then allow Connection Center to access information.

On subsequent use, Connection Center by default displays the person you

selected for your previous upload. That is, if you selected Maria for your last

upload, Connection Center automatically selects Maria. To upload for a different

person, click the arrow and make a selection or add a person.


Multi-user devices

If your device contains readings for multiple users, make sure the right information goes

into the right person’s record in your HealthVault account. To help you, Connection

Center displays a screen that looks something like this:

The screen shows:

In the left column, the device users as they are identified on the device

In the right column, opposite each device user name, a menu listing the people

who have records that Connection Center can access in HealthVault

If each device user is already matched with the right person’s record in

HealthVault, go ahead to Step 2. If not:

o Opposite each device user, in the right column, click the arrow.

o Select the correct person.

More information

If there's a device user whose device readings you don't want to upload, select

Don’t upload data for this person instead of a name.


If the person you want isn’t in the list, in the Tools menu at the upper right, click

Add a person. Sign in to HealthVault and, if necessary, add the person to your

account. Then allow Connection Center to access information.

Step 2: Upload

When you’ve made your selections in Step 1, click Upload now.

Connection Center displays messages about the progress of your upload:

First you see that Connection Center imports information; that is, it copies your

readings from your device to your computer.

Then you see that Connection Center uploads the device data; that is, it sends

your data to the record or records you selected in HealthVault.

Once you’ve started your upload, both of those stages occur automatically: You don’t

have to do anything further.

Success!

When your upload is finished, Connection Center displays the results on a screen that

looks something like this:


Now you can:

View your data in HealthVault.

Take new readings with your device and start another upload. (Be sure to follow

the instructions in the manual for your device; some devices require you to

disconnect from your computer before you take new readings.)

Click Select a task to add another device or to use the medical image upload and

download capabilities of Connection Center.

Note

If your upload is incomplete or if there’s a problem during your upload, Connection

Center displays a message to describe the condition and explain what to do.

Get familiar with Connection Center

Now that you’ve uploaded once from your device, you can do it again any time you

have new readings: Just connect your device to your computer, and follow the onscreen

prompts in Connection Center.

You can also easily add another device at any time. (See Adding a device, below.)

In this section you’ll learn how to find some helpful features in Connection Center and

how to choose the settings that control how Connection Center responds when you

connect your devices.

You’ll learn more about:

Customizing Connection Center

Starting and exiting, opening and closing Connection Center

For more detailed assistance and information about additional Connection Center

features, please visit the online Help:

In Connection Center, on the Help menu, click View help online.


Customizing Connection Center

You can customize what Connection Center does when you start Windows and when

you connect a device. In the United States, you can use Connection Center either in

English or Spanish.

Changing how Connection Center starts

By default, Connection Center starts automatically when you log on to your computer.

To change this:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

2. Clear the check box for Start Connection Center automatically when I log on

to my computer, and then click OK.

If you clear the check box, you must start Connection Center whenever you want to

upload from a device. (See Starting Connection Center, above.)

Detecting new devices

By default, Connection Center is set to open whenever you connect a compatible device

for the first time, and to prompt you to add the device so you can upload from it to

HealthVault. To change this:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

2. Clear the check box for If I connect a HealthVault-compatible device to my

computer, prompt me to add it to Connection Center, and then click OK.

If you clear the check box, when you want to add a device to Connection Center, click

Select a task, select Add a device, and follow the onscreen instructions. (Also see Add

your device to Connection Center, earlier in this guide.)


Uploading automatically

You can choose whether or not to have Connection Center upload automatically when

you connect a device you’ve added. To view the available settings:

1. In Connection Center, click Select a task, and then select the device you want.

2. Click the device name, and then click Default action.

3. Review or change what Connection Center does when you connect the device,

and then click OK.

The actions you can choose are:

Open the Connection Center window and let me choose the person whose

data I want to upload. For most devices, this is the default setting. When you

connect your device, Connection Center opens automatically to the screen where

you select a person (or people) and start your upload.

Upload automatically. When you connect your device, your upload starts.

Connection Center automatically chooses the person (or people) whose

HealthVault records you used in the previous upload.

Do nothing. With this setting selected, Connection Center doesn’t respond

automatically when you connect a device you previously added. (If you have

Connection Center set to detect new devices, that still occurs.) If you’ve

connected a device and want to upload, open Connection Center, click Select a

task, select the device, and follow the onscreen instructions to upload.

Choosing a language

To switch between English and Spanish:

On the Tools menu, point to Switch language, and then select the language

that you want to use.


Starting and exiting, opening and closing

Starting Connection Center

By default, Connection Center starts automatically when you log on to your computer

and runs in the background, ready to upload when you connect a device.

To start Connection Center when it isn’t running:

1. On the Windows taskbar, click Start.

2. On your list of programs, select Microsoft HealthVault Connection Center. (It

may be inside the Microsoft HealthVault folder.)

Once Connection Center is running, it continues running unless you exit the program or

log off from Windows.

Exiting Connection Center

When you exit Connection Center, it’s turned all the way off. When Connection Center is

off, it doesn’t upload data automatically when you connect a device to your computer.

To exit:

On the Tools menu, click Exit.

Closing Connection Center while leaving it ready to

upload

You can close the Connection Center window and leave Connection Center running in

the background, ready for your next upload.

To close the Connection Center window and leave the program running:

Click the X in the red box in the upper right corner of the window.


To open Connection Center when it’s running in the background:

Double-click the Connection Center icon in the notification area on your

taskbar. (The notification area is at the right of the taskbar, near the clock. You

may have to click an arrow to display hidden icons in the notification area.)

At times, Connection Center may be open, but not the active window on your

computer. For example, when you’ve completed a task in HealthVault and want to

resume working in Connection Center, the browser window may be covering the

Connection Center window.

To make Connection Center the active window, on your Windows taskbar:

Click the HealthVault Connection Center button:

Working with devices

In this section we’ll briefly describe how to do the most common tasks involving devices

in Connection Center. For more detailed instructions about these topics, or to find

instructions for other tasks, please refer to the online Help for Connection Center:

1. In Connection Center, click Help.

2. Click View help online.


Adding a device

You can add a device to Connection Center at any time.

1. Click Select a task, and then click Add a device. You see this screen:

2. Connect the device to your computer and follow the onscreen instructions to add

the driver software for the device to work with Connection Center. For more

information, see Add your device to Connection Center, earlier in this guide.

Switching to a different device

When you want to upload or view data from a device other than the one that’s active,

either connect the device or:

1. Click Select a task.

2. Select the device you want to work with.

Viewing data you’ve uploaded from a device

1. In Connection Center, click Select a task, and then select the device.

2. Click the device name, and then click View data in HealthVault.


3. Sign in to HealthVault, if necessary.

4. HealthVault opens to the page showing the data from your device.

Note

In addition to data uploaded from the active device, the page you see in HealthVault

may contain data of the same type from other devices and data that you entered

manually or through an online health tool. For example, your heart rate information in

HealthVault may include data uploaded from both a blood pressure monitor and from a

pulse oximeter.

In HealthVault, you find device data via the Health information tab for each person

whose data you’ve uploaded.

using devices with microsoft...

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