Google Health Expands, Offering Quick (and Lucrative!) Info on Your Meds

Google's integrated health section now includes yet another feature. Yesterday, the search engine megalith added quick-hit medication information to its repertoire.

Last year, Google launched its foray into consumer-friendly health coverage with "Health OneBox," offering easy-to-read details on illnesses and conditions with a single search.

So why is Google adding this latest feature? And how will it work? Surge Desk breaks it down:

How can I use Google's new tools?

Search for medications the same way you always did, using generic names ("acetaminophen") or brand names ("Aleve"). But instead of a standard list of Google results, you'll see a box describing the medication and offering quick links to information on side effects, how to take the drug, key precautions and so on.

What does this mean for my Web-dependent hypochondria?

Only good things, poor dear! Google is sourcing its information from the National Institutes of Health, making the data more reliable than much of the murky fodder that circulates on the Web.

In other words, you'll still be paranoid that Yasmin is making your eyes bulge -- but at least your misplaced woes will be based on government-vetted research.

What makes medication-in-a-box better than regular search results?

For consumers, Google is touting easy-to-read, reliable information. For Google, though, the Health OneBox is an effective way to make major money.

"Health/Pharma represented just over $900 million in online ad spending in 2009," writes Greg Stirling. Given that search accounts for nearly half of all online ad spending, Stirling concludes that "the paid search share of this online health advertising pie is a little over $426 million."

Just how thorough is Google's coverage?

When it comes to mainstream medication, Google's got you covered. A search of the best-selling drugs in America -- from Lipitor to Zyprexa -- yielded successful OneBox results each time.

But if alterna-therapies are your thing, your search results won't have Google's quality guarantee. Searches for natural remedies like echinacea, St. John's wort and rosehip were futile. And even leeches -- approved by the FDA as a medical treatment in 2004 -- didn't make the Google cut.