Cloud computing offers opportunities to develop large databases and to justify the cost of developing cross-walks between such databases to get even more data. And, to provide links to sources outside the “healthcare system.” Links to social networks like patients-like-me. Links to devices in places other than medical facilities such as the links envisioned by the recently announced joint venture between Intel and GE.

Internet applications often start small and then grow way beyond what is foreseeable at the beginning, e.g., web search that has now grown into Google, and others.