I’ve been trying to elucidate Google’s rumored healthcare plans for quite some time now. Google’s plans are outlined in these two posts on Google’s blog: How do you know you’re getting the best care possible? and Is there a doctor in the family?.
The post titles lay it out pretty well. Google wants to be your trusted source of information in health matters. Is you surgeon’s recommended knee surgery the best option? Which drugs are best for your form of diabetes? etc.
There’s been a shift in the past 50 years away from the doctor-centric model of healthcare to one in which patients expect, and demand, better information and control over their treatments. Google’s not the first to try this, but they weren’t the first search engine either – we’ll see if they can’t fix health information the same way they fixed search.