Google and Health: Still Plugging Along

November 8, 2019

Google is joining the push into healthcare and, not surprisingly, its focus is on search functionality for doctors and patients. Engadget reports, “Google Wants to Give Doctors Web-Like Searches for Medical Records.” We wonder—how long before SEO experts boost ads for drugs related to each patient’s health history?

Writer Jon Fingas summarizes a piece from CNBC that outlines the company’s plans according to Google Health lead David Feinberg. Fingas writes:

“Feinberg envisions a search bar that would help doctors search medical records like they do the web. A doctor could search for ‘87’ to find an 87-year-old patient instead of using the patient’s name, as an example. An insider also claimed that Google is considering a Flights-style dedicated search experience for health. You could research conditions without wading through the regular web to find trustworthy info.

It’s not certain how close either idea is to fruition, and CNBC’s tipster warned that it wasn’t certain the Google search team would sign off on the dedicated health search. Google might have to ditch advertising on the health page. They do indicate how Google Health and Feinberg are thinking, however, and give you a hint of what to expect in the future.”

So, maybe not so much on that SEO potential; we shall see. The write-up notes Feinberg has made other health-related moves, like pulling advertisements from anti-vaxer propaganda on YouTube. Perhaps even more is happening behind the Google Health scenes, Fingas suggests.

The digital business school case study is on the march.

Cynthia Murrell, November 8, 2019

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