Google has offered more information about various health conditions through the launch of a new feature on its dedicated application. Dubbed as "health cards," the introduction is said to offer information on more than 400 health conditions like dengue fever and malaria.
According to IBN Live, users can search for these health conditions through their mobile phones (iOS and Android), tablets and even desktop browsers. Google senior product manager Prem Ramaswami said they came up with the new addition in coordination with some medical facilities.
"We have worked with Apollo Hospitals and Columbia Asia Hospitals to review the content and the health information," Ramaswami added. We will enable our users to check typical symptoms and get details on how common the condition is, whether it is critical, contagious and other information."
IBN Live said that India is already the third nation to have this health data in the Knowledge Graph. All information made available to users are tailored to the needs of the residents of the country.
Asked why the company deemed the addition important, the Google product manager explained that health problems are among the most common searched items on their website. "We will ensure that we convey that people should always consult a medical professional if they have a health-related concern," he added.
In a similar report, DNA India mentioned that Google has not yet added a feature for the application to suggest a treatment for specific health conditions. Ramaswami explained that the team is still evaluating the idea.
"In the US, we have that. But we haven't added that in India and Brazil as we are still studying the market here," he noted. "If we see that as a viable option, we will do that."
He assured users in the IBN Live report that the information and data on the health cards will be useful and accessible to users even when they do not have an internet connection. "Google will automatically load a 'lighter' version of the cards when a slow connection is detected so people can get to the information they need, quickly," he added.
