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.
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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”.
Another tool’s feature is a reminder of what patients should bring to the visit. This may be a list of current medications, recent lab results, or their insurance card.
Greenwood stresses that “Google does not store any of the information”, which ensures the tool’s security. In addition, it can be used without signing into a Google account.
In its pilot phase, the tool is available “to a limited number of people in the United States”, but will be expanded in the future.
Last year, AHRQ launched a similar project, the Question
Builder app, based on the organisation’s pre-visit guidance.
Source and image credit: Google
