Friday 4 September 2015

Google expands health search to 900 medical conditions

SAN FRANCISCO — Google has made it even easier to search for details on more than 900 health conditions, everything from the common cold to whooping cough.

Health conditions are among the most frequently searched topics on Google. In February, Google debuted a new search feature specifically for medical information.

When people research health conditions or diseases, a search box pops up to the right of search results with details such as symptoms, treatments, prevalence and so forth. The search feature originally covered 400 conditions. Now Google has more than doubled the number of conditions.

Google says it worked with medical professionals to surface the most relevant and most trusted results.

Now when people specifically search for symptoms, that’s what will show up in the search box. People can also print out a PDF of the information to take with them to a doctor’s visit.

Google is not just featuring run-of-the-mill health conditions. It’s also including “neglected tropical diseases” such as Dengue Fever and Chikungunya, which it says affect more than 1.5 billion people, including 500 million children, in poorer regions.

So far the feature is only available in English, but Google plans to expand it to more languages and regions.

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