Google and the Mayo Clinic announced a partnership aimed at providing more reliable and accurate healthcare information. The changes are expected to be unveiled on Feb. 17.
Approximately five percent of Google searches are health-related, according to Google product manager Prem Ramaswami. Google noted that the search results are intended for informational purposes and should not be considered medical advice.
“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 wrote in a blog post on the company website. “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.”
As part of this project, Google compiled data on healthcare conditions, which was then checked and confirmed by medical doctors as well as clinicians from the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic is a non-profit organization with campuses in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. In July, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Mayo Clinic as the top hospital in the U.S.
“As an editor and physician, I know how difficult it is to present concise, useful information,” said Phil Hagen, MD, medical director healthy living at Mayo Clinic Global Solutions. “I think these should be viewed as the first stop for those needing health information, and as people need more information, they can quickly connect to a medical website like MayoClinic.org.”
Google is launching the updated information in English in the U.S. However, it plans on expanding to other countries and languages.
“In the long run, not only do we plan to cover many more medical conditions, but we also want to extend this to other parts of the world,” Ramaswami wrote. “So the next time you need info on frostbite symptoms, or treatments for tennis elbow, or the basics on measles, the Google app will be a better place to start.”
- Google blog post
- Mayo Clinic news release
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.