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By Nathan Olivarez-Giles 

Google has a health problem. Its search results for medical symptoms aren't very useful at best, and in many cases are alarmingly off base, frustrating patients and doctors alike.

The Alphabet Inc.-owned search giant says it has developed a cure. On Monday, it rolled out a new feature called symptom search.

The next time you use the Google search app for iPhone and Android to look up something like "my tummy hurts," "skin rash," or "headache on one side," you'll see about a half-dozen digital cards you can swipe through right below the search box. Each of these cards briefly describes a common health problem related to your search term.

Google worked with Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic to build the symptom search cards. Where possible, the cards will mention whether self-treatment options are available, or whether a related health problem is serious enough to warrant professional medical care. Beneath the cards, you'll see the same old list of website links -- helpful or unhelpful as they may be.

"Before symptom search, you really had to know the exact name of what you were looking for to find the best health information," said Veronica Pinchin, a product manager on Google's search team. "It was difficult to stumble on the right condition."

The internet is filled with inaccurate medical advice, and busy doctors often encounter needlessly worried patients, says Seth Martin, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a practicing cardiologist.

"We've all had the experience where people come in with information they found online and it's been way off," says Dr. Martin, who isn't affiliated with Google's new initiative. "When that happens, it's an uphill climb to get patients back to an accurate understanding of what's going on."

About 1% of Google's search queries world-wide are related to medical symptoms, so Google has built millions of cards for millions of different searches. That doesn't mean there is a right card out there for everyone. "Because this is an algorithm, it isn't perfect," Ms. Pinchin says. "But we're going to expand and improve it over time."

At launch, symptom search will be available only in the U.S. in English, in Google namesake iOS and Android apps, and in google.com search results on mobile phones and tablets. Google plans to bring it to desktop browsers and roll it out to international markets in more languages.

"We can't replace doctors who diagnose patients or come up with treatment plans, but we want to help improve the conversation," says Ms. Pinchin. "One of our big focuses here is making this all very accessible. We want this to be in a language that everyone can understand, not just doctors."

Google's effort to improve health-related search results is both overdue and encouraging, says Wanda Filer, a York, Pa., family physician and president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "A lot of times, what people find scares the daylights out of them," says Dr. Filer, who is also unaffiliated with the search giant. "So if these Google cards can add context, that's going to help doctors and patients out tremendously." (The Wall Street Journal received a demo of symptom search before launch but was unable to test it independently.)

What could help even more, she said, is if a person using Google symptom search took a screenshot of what they read and shared it with their doctor. "Knowing what a patient has read and seen gives us a good starting point for a conversation," Ms. Filer said. "No information given out online could replace a doctor's visit, but it can be a complement."

Write to Nathan Olivarez-Giles at Nathan.Olivarez-giles@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 20, 2016 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT)

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