Google is in the process of rolling out a brand new health feature offering information about “common” medical conditions when relevant terms are searched for. Medical illustrations and possible treatments are amongst some of the information appearing on screens in the US. The company claims to have worked with various medical professionals in order to develop the service.
The tech giants says, although the service is currently limited the US, it will be launched globally in the future. It added that information about lesser-known conditions will be added later. The company has stressed that the service isn’t intended to replace face-to-face medical advice. Nonetheless, various doctors have welcomed the news.
Google’s Prem Ramaswami said that one-in-20 Google searched were for medical information. He said: “We’ll show you typical symptoms and treatments, as well as details on how common the condition is – whether it’s critical, if it’s contagious, what ages it affects, and more.”
Ramaswami said that users will be able to decide what to ask their doctors and where to find further information online after getting basic information from the service. Google have made various attempts to get into the health market recently and last year said it was funding research into and development of a cancer and heart attack detector. Google’s rivals Apple are rumoured to be developing a new search engine.
