NHS partners with Google to improve health information online

NHS has partnered with Google to ensure the public is presented with trusted information when searching for a number of conditions online.

The measures will see Knowledge Panels appear on the search results page, which will present users with NHS advice when they look up one of the more than 250 most queried health conditions.

The panels will be presented to users performing mobile searches for information on Google, and will include information about symptoms, treatment and causes, with links and content sourced from the NHS website.

According to Tara Donnelly, NHSX chief digital officer, the key driver for the project was to ensure the provision of accurate health information so the public can be confident they are following official NHS advice.

“By making NHS website content free to use for third-party organisations, we will ensure people get NHS advice when they search online, rather than some of the many other sources – some with guidance that isn’t right for the UK, and some that just aren’t right,” she said.

According to information onf the NHS website, run by NHS Digital, the reason why the functionality is focused on mobile browsing is because more than three-quarters of the millions of visits a year to the website come directly from searches on smartphones.

The functionality has also been syndicated and is available for any third-party platform to use.