People seeking medical advice online is continuing to be a trend, but whether that information can be trusted is the question. Mayo Clinic wants to make it easier to get that trusted information right at your fingertips.
“We know that online health seekers, consumers, 8 out of 10 of them will go to a search engine too often start their search for their health questions,” said Sandhya Pruthi with Mayo Clinic.
Pruthi is the Chief Medical Editor for Global Business Solutions with Mayo Clinic and she has been working closely with Google since March to make what she calls a more reliable health search.
Relying on the internet for medical advice only continues to grow, that’s according to Nurse Anthony Sikkink of Rochester.
Want to publish your own articles on DistilINFO Publications?
Send us an email, we will get in touch with you.
He says this partnership is a natural fit, “It would definitely be beneficial to get the right information so you’re not getting all worked up and scared before you had an appointment,” Sikkink said.
He said having a better understanding of what your issue is, is also helpful before consulting with a doctor.
For now – this system is only for mobile units. One can search common terms like a headache, or “I have a tummy ache,” and Mayo Clinic’s information will pop up on top.
“What they [the people who are searching] want is not to have to go from page to page to page and question, ‘is this helpful information or is this information inaccurate?’,” Pruthi said. “To bring Mayo Clinic right up to the top when that search occurs and to guide them to the website where they get more information – we know that our consumers want good information, they want reliable information.”
Date: June 25, 2016