Google Inc said it would add a feature wherein online searches on health-related topics would display relevant medical details on the search page. If a user searches for a topic such as “conjunctivitis”, the page will pull up details such as symptoms, treatments, age factor and whether the condition is contagious, Google said in an official statement.
Starting in the next few days, when you ask Google about common health conditions, you’ll start getting relevant medical facts right up front from the Knowledge Graph. Google will 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. For some conditions you’ll also see high-quality illustrations from licensed medical illustrators. Once you get this basic info from Google, you should find it easier to do more research on other sites around the web, or know what questions to ask your doctor.
Google in related to the new feature said that:
We worked with a team of medical doctors (led by our own Dr. Kapil Parakh, M.D., MPH, Ph.D.) to carefully compile, curate, and review this information. All of the gathered facts represent real-life clinical knowledge from these doctors and high-quality medical sources across the web, and the information has been checked by medical doctors at Google and the Mayo Clinic for accuracy.
The company, however, warned that the search results should not be considered medical advice. Of course, you don’t want to rely on Google as your doctor. As Ramaswami cautioned, the data that Google shows you is for information only. You still should always consult with a physician if you have any serious questions or concerns about a medical ailment. But Google may be a good place to start if you simply have basic questions.
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