One of the main things that makes Google Now so good is the Knowledge Graph, a platform that Google put together quite some time ago that brings together relevant information and displays them as neat little cards on the Desktop as well as on the move. So far, this has been useful for all sorts of information from celebrity lookups, to facts that can help you settle disputes with your friends. It’s really quite useful, but there’s been one area that the Knowledge Graph didn’t help with; medical information. Google is rectifying that now though, as over the next few days the Knowledge Graph will become smarter with the inclusion of medical facts.
It’s understandable that a lot of people would have their doubts about Google getting involved with medical info, as we all know Googling for the majority of symptoms will lead to a recommendation that you have cancer or that you’re going to die. I’m exagerating of course, but using the Internet for medical advice has never been a good idea. Thankfully, Google have worked together with a team of physicians, led by their own Dr. Kapil Parakh, M.D., MPH, Ph.D. to compile and curate all the information, which is fact checked by Doctors at Google and the Mayo Clinic.
All of this will enabled you to ask Google “what is tonsillitis?” and be given a neat little illustration of the affected area as well as symptoms to look out for and general advice. It’s not designed as a replacement for WebMD or something like that, but more as a sort of intermediary. To get quick, and reliable, facts on medical ailments you can now turn to Google, which is exactly what 1 in 20 searchers do. These new additions to the Knowledge Graph will be rolling out over the next few days and there’s a short and sweet example of how it works just below. For more information, you can turn to the Google Blog, but you should be able to try it out for yourself in a couple of days or so.