Google may let you video chat with a doctor while you search

You know how it is. Feeling a little under the weather, you start Googling your symptoms to find out exactly what it is you’ve come down with. Before you know it, you’ve diagnosed yourself with a terminal illness, leaving you to wonder if you’ll make it to Christmas.

While jumping onto Google can
of course be a useful way to gather more information on a particular ailment, some online searches can lead you the wrong way and leave you feeling more worried than when you started.

Aware that so many people use its search engine in an effort to identify a health condition, Google is currently testing a video-based service that puts you in touch with a doctor, Engadget reported over the weekend.

The service would apparently operate through Google Helpouts, the Mountain View company’s online platform that connects users to experts across a range of fields.

While we haven’t heard a great deal about the platform since it launched last year, it was revealed just a couple of days ago that the Web giant is apparently gearing up to push Helpouts to a wider audience by integrating its range of services with regular search results.

Google confirmed to Engadget that it is indeed working on a doctor-supported video service for Web users in need of expert medical advice.

A search card (shown right) obtained by the site reveals a message that reads: “Talk with a doctor now.,” with a little video camera icon beside it. The card, which will appear when Google detects you’re performing a symptom-related search, shows another message suggesting that Google will pick up the tab for the online consultations, though it seems this will only be during the trial period.

All we really know for sure at the moment is that the feature is currently in a test phase. If a video service featuring trained physicians turns out to be a useful tool for helping worried Web users reach a more accurate diagnosis, Google will make it a permanent addition.

While the popularity of any such service will largely depend on how much Google charges for it, it could turn out to a great tool for those looking for quick and sound advice regarding a medical condition causing concern.

Facebook May Be the Next Tech Company Collecting Your Health Data

Facebook may be the latest tech company eyeing your health information.

The social network is reportedly looking into creating a healthcare-related app and "support communities" on the site where people suffering from certain ailments would be able to connect,
according to a Reuters report.

The "preventative care" would help users improve their lifestyles, it added.

Details about Facebook's plans to enter the healthcare space are limited, but the company may have been meeting with medical industry experts for months to test and develop the app or applications.

The report also added that Facebook plans to launch a health app under a different name as a way to ease up on privacy concerns out of the gate. Facebook has been under scrutiny recently for a myriad of privacy concerns, including one related to manipulating users' emotions as a part of a research study.

The news comes as at a time when other companies like Google and Apple are dabbling with health and fitness data.

The news comes as at a time when other companies like Google and Apple are dabbling with health and fitness data.Apple recently launched its Health app, a hub for iOS 8 users to keep track of fitness goals and health-related information, and Google is working on Google Fit for Android that tracks similar data across various platforms and wearables.

Although it might seem strange for Facebook to dip its toes into health, its executives believe giving people a way to talk more about healthcare could increase engagement on the site too, the report said.

The site noticed an uptick in those with chronic ailments looking for advice, and creating a place where people could share treatment experiences and other information may be the Facebook's way of addressing that demand.

This isn't the first time Facebook has explored healthcare. In 2012, Facebook added an organ donor option to its Timeline, as a part of an effort to help those waiting for heart, kidney or liver transplants.

Reuters also points out that Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, who is training to become a pediatrician, recently pledged $5 million to the Ravenswood Health Center in East Palo Alto. That said, Facebook ramping up efforts in healthcare support is probably more strategic than personal.