It’s not always easy to find a good healthcare provider. From problems like your insurance being rejected to simply there being an inconvenience in location, finding a doctor that works for you can become frustrating. Well now Google is working to make that whole process just a little bit easier. Let’s look at some of the tools they have rolled out in recent months that help people find the right doctor and healthcare provider.
More Information in Google Maps and Search
Back in September, Google began to take steps to help fix the problem surrounding health provider inaccuracies. It had been discovered that an overwhelming number of health providers displayed at least one inaccuracy on their websites, whether that be their hours of availability or their willingness to accept new patients. This has led Google to adding the ability for information about doctors offices and other providers to be added to their google maps app. Not only that, but back in July, Google had added a feature so that you can see cluttered public transit locations, allowing you to physically distance more effectively.
Google Care Studio has Become Mobile
Back in October, Google put the finishing touches on a mobile version of their program known as Google Care Studio. This program allows doctors to bring up a summary of patient information, in case they need to get the answer to a specific problem related to that patient quickly. Care Studio presents information such as the patient’s vitals, location, allergies, medications, and more. Previously, the app was only available as a desktop program, but now doctors can access that information on the move. This is of course useful when the doctor needs the answer to a pressing patient matter while they are out of the office.
Doctors and Providers Can Now Claim Their Profile
With one of Google’s latest releases, doctors and healthcare providers can now claim their business profile online. This gives them the ability to update their information, such as hours and available services, with changes taking effect in a matter of hours. This goes back to the problem surrounding information accuracy. With this feature, Google is now putting more power into the hands of the healthcare providers to ensure that everything flows smoothly and any and all information is completely accurate.
Insurance and Language Availability
With their latest health-related release, Google has now given patients a lot more power to find the perfect doctor visit. This is because of two very important features. The first allows those with medicare to find healthcare locations in their area that will accept their insurance. This is huge for the patient, as it can be very easy to find yourself in a location that denies your insurance, leading to a drawn-out situation in trying to get everything sorted out, or the patient being forced to pay the bill out of pocket. This feature is trying to minimize these issues and lower the number of insurance conflicts.
The other feature being released alongside that is the ability for patients to see what languages are spoken at different doctors offices. This feature is brand new, and at the moment it supports 12 languages, including Spanish and American Sign Language. This feature is attempting to end the frustrations created when there is a language barrier. The last thing a patient wants is to be unable to understand their doctor, especially when there is a major health issue. As time goes on, it is expected that more languages will be added to the list, further broadening that coverage.
