Google is injecting its search engine with a large dose of medical data to pacify your inner hypochondriac

One in 20 Google searches are health-related, according to the company. People want to look up symptoms they're feeling, or perhaps learn about the conditions of others.

That's why Google is injecting its popular search engine with more reliable health information, which has all been fact-checked, curated and reviewed by "a team of medical doctors" from Google and the Mayo Clinic, led by Google's own Dr. Kapil Parakh, a Johns Hopkins cardiologist with extensive expertise in epidemiology, clinical research and public health..

Here's what Google said in its Tuesday blog post:

Starting in the next few days, when you ask Google about common health conditions, you'll start getting relevant medical facts right up front from the Knowledge Graph. We'll show you typical symptoms and treatments, as well as details on how common the condition is-whether it's critical, if it's contagious, what ages it affects, and more.

For some conditions you'll also see high-quality illustrations from licensed medical illustrators. Once you get this basic info from Google, you should find it easier to do more research on other sites around the web, or know what questions to ask your doctor.

Here's an example of what you might see on your phone when you try Google searching "tonsillitis."

Google

Google's updated search engine won't be able to replace what a doctor can do, but its information should offer a good place to start when it comes to making decisions about one's health. You can read the full blog post here.

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