New Tool from Google Helps with Medical Visit Planning

Google in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is launching a pilot project aimed at helping citizens to plan their doctor’s appointments.

In a blog post, Dave Greenwood, Product Manager at Google Health, notes the advantages of planned visits, such as higher quality of a visit or better patient outcomes. The new tool focusses on common evidence-based questions people might have about their care, and complements Google’s search results for a doctor’s office or a hospital.

Users are offered a ready-made list of questions, such as “What are my treatment options?”, but are able to add their own as well. When the list is completed, it can be printed or emailed so that a patient has it with them during the visit and is able to remember all the questions they would like to be answered. The embedded questions have been developed by AHRQ and are intended “to get people thinking about their goals and priorities for the visit”.