Google wants to know if you're sick
Correction at 4:13 p.m. PDT Thursday: Roni Zeiger's last name was misspelled in an earlier version of this post.
Google is attempting to find out how much of a role Internet searches play in the self-diagnosis process.
The company plans later Wednesday to start rolling out a subtle question at the bottom of pages with search results for a few common ailments, such as "Did you search because you or someone you know may have an ear infection?" That question will only appear for a very small number of users who search for terms such as "ear infection," but it will help Google start to understand how many people are searching on such terms looking for treatment remedies or options as opposed to doing research, said Dr. Roni Zeiger, a product manager for Google Health.
Understanding how many people are searching on Google for help diagnosing their health could improve future search results, the company thinks.
(Credit: Google)In a way, this is an extension of the work Google has done tracking the flu with Google Flu Trends. The company noticed that search activity related to the flu tends to rise about two weeks before a similar rise is reported to the Centers for Disease Control by doctors, but years of data on flu patterns validates those trends, Zeiger said. Similar data does not exist for more common health issues.
Google is not exactly sure what it wants to do with that data, or how much useful data will be produced by the experiment. Ultimately, however, everything at Google goes back into the search process, so it's possible that the data could be used to offer searchers more options, such as "Did you mean to search for treatment options for X?" at the top of the search page.
This is a temporary project: Google plans to gather data for several weeks, starting Wednesday afternoon.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
Link at bottom of the search page - "Tip: These results include the word "treatment". Show results that include only "remedy"."
Google's fast to incorporate any data into a smarter search.
I reckon there are hundreds of thousands of people searching google for symptoms/remedies/whether they need to see a doctor.
It's convenient, quick, and freely aquired information.
People need to stop being paranoid about google tracking them. What in the world is google going to do with this so called private information that you don't want them to? What would be the goal in using it for malicious purposes. Some people have seen too many James Bond movies.
- by yellowrose55 May 14, 2009 8:18 AM PDT
- If it weren't for Google I would not have discovered Mary Shomon and old-school (now considered alternative) hypothyroidism treatments such as Armour. I would not have found a great endocrinologist, or rebounded in health and strength in a manner unbelievable to friends and family. I have been able to look up my own and family members' health issues and whether that is considered self-diagnosis or research I can't say. It has been both at the same time, I think, or one leads to the other and vice versa.
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