Google Testing New Doc-Chat Feature
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
A free trial of video chats with physicians is unveiled by Google.
Digit reports Google is “testing a new program that connects people searching for health conditions with doctors via video chats.” The service is part of Google Helpouts, “A marketplace where ‘experts’ can charge to give lessons and advice over video chat.”
A redditor offered up one way the program works, writing when he searched for “knee pain” on Google a pop-up box appeared offering him a free, limited-time trial offer that allowed him to connect with a medical professional via video chat.
For its part, Google is expanding its connections to the healthcare industry in what appears to be a move to discourage self-diagnosis on the internet. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center last year, 35 percent of U.S. adults have gone online to try to self-diagnose a medical condition. This could translate into big bucks for Google.
Last fall, Google launched Google Helpouts, a paid service designed to connect users to experts in a variety of fields, including healthcare. Some sessions are free, although others carry a charge. In contrast, this new trial run being provided by Google comes at no charge to the users and is available to Google search users in California and Massachusetts.
“Based on your search query, we think you are trying to understand a medical condition,” Google says in the advice box pop-up. “Here you can find healthcare providers who you can visit with over video chat.”
“When you’re searching for basic health information – from conditions like insomnia or food poisoning – our goal is to provide you with the most helpful information available. We’re trying this new feature to see if it’s useful to people,” a Google spokeswoman told the Guardian.
The healthcare industry is a potentially lucrative market for technology companies like Google, worth about 10 percent of the economy of developed nations. The U.S. healthcare industry is valued at $3 trillion.