NHS Digital has created a series of knowledge panels providing information on health conditions in response to Google searches.
It said it has provided the channel for 251 of the most searched for health conditions on the NHS website and aims to make all of them available by the end of today.
The organisation has been working with Google on the project with the aim of providing the public with easier access to the information, which takes in symptoms, treatment and causes.
It has involved syndicating a range of content from the website to ensure that bitesize chunks, all clinically assured, can be discovered more easily.
The content will feed into panels that will come up at the top of a page on a mobile device in the UK when a Google search is carried out for one of the conditions – similar to the process that produces panels for Wikipedia or an Internet Movie Database entry.
It includes links to the relevant content on the NHS website.
Social media opening
The syndication process has also made content available to social media platforms and other organisations under the Open Government Licence.
Tara Donnelly, chief digital officer at NHSX, said: “One of NHSX’s key missions is to ensure the public are provided with accurate health information so they can be confident they are following official NHS advice.
“By making NHS website content free to use for third party organisations, we will ensure people get NHS advice when they search online rather than some of the many other sources, some with guidance that isn't right for the UK, and some that just aren’t right.”
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