Will online symptom checkers improve health care in Australia?

Abstract

In times when health services are under increasing strain, digital health technologies such as online symptom checkers appear convenient and cost‐effective tools for reducing the burden on clinics, telemedicine services, and emergency departments. In practical terms, an online symptom checker is a smartphone app or web‐based form that can provide a diagnosis on the basis of a set of self‐reported symptoms. They can suggest diagnoses for a broad range of conditions with which people may present to a clinic or emergency department. When they work properly, symptom checkers should turn current practice guidelines into tools that can diagnose and triage patients at low cost.

In times when health services are under increasing strain, digital health technologies such as online symptom checkers appear convenient and cost‐effective tools for reducing the burden on clinics, telemedicine services, and emergency departments. In practical terms, an online symptom checker is a smartphone app or web‐based form that can provide a diagnosis on the basis of a set of self‐reported symptoms. They can suggest diagnoses for a broad range of conditions with which people may present to a clinic or emergency department. When they work properly, symptom checkers should turn current practice guidelines into tools that can diagnose and triage patients at low cost.