Google Introduces Health Knowledge Panel

Internet search engine, Google, on Monday, announced the launch of its health knowledge panels in Nigeria.

Google Vice President of Product Management, Mrs Tamar Yehoshua, made this known in a statement in Lagos.

Yehoshua stated that the health knowledge panels would appear at the top of any health-related search result.

According to her, it will provide a snapshot of the condition, symptoms and treatment of more than 800 commonly searched health conditions.

She added that “Google is where most people turn to when they have health questions. In fact, one out of 20 Google searches is for health-related information.

“With this in mind, Google developed its health knowledge panel, which is now available in 20 countries in Africa, including Nigeria.

“The health knowledge panels are available on both mobile and desktop, and cover over 800 health conditions created to display facts for health problems and symptoms based on peoples’ search interests.

“Nigerians are turning to Google Search to find answers to a variety of topics ranging from health, finance, as well as entertainment, sports and other issues of national interest.

“In fact, Search growth in Nigeria has been accelerating and has been recently outpacing the global growth average, proof that Google Search has become an important information destination for the people,” she said.

“We collaborated with a team of medical experts from institutions such as University of Ibadan and Mayo Clinic in the U.S.

“The collaboration is to ensure that gathered facts represent real-life clinical knowledge from health institutions and experts around the world.”

Yehoshua said Google had earlier announced plans to launch a number of new features like health searches and Google posts.

Others are sports searches for users of Google search in Nigeria at the “Google for Nigeria conference in July.”

She noted that though the health card feature was intended for informational purposes only, users were advised to consult a medical professional regarding actual health concerns.