The NHS has partnered with Google in an effort to tackle bad health advice online and to stem the spread of misinformation about the deadly Coronavirus.

The goal is to ensure that people are presented with accurate and trusted information when they use the search engine to lookup a number of ailments.

When mobile users search for one or more than 250 health conditions via Google’s search platform they will be presented with Knowledge Panels on the search results page.

The panels will include information including symptoms, treatment, causes, with links and content sourced from the NHS website. Google will also provide such knowledge panels to the World Health Organisation (WHO),

“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,” Tara Donnelly, NHSX chief digital officer said.

NHS Digital said it decided to focus on mobile browsing because more than three-quarters of the millions of visits a year to the website come directly from searches on smartphones.

The functionality has also been syndicated and is available for any third-party platform to use. The NHS is also working with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to tackle the proliferation of misinformation of health advice online.

NHS chief executive Simon Stevens said: “Ensuring the public has easy access to accurate NHS advice however they search for it, not only will support people to take the right action but will also help the country’s response to coronavirus…

“It’s right that social media platforms and search engines take any action so they can help ensure the public are directed to NHS advice first.”

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The NHS’s efforts align and support the Government’s new “counter disinformation unit”, which monitors and responds to inaccurate and misleading posts.

Professor Jonathan Benger, chief medical officer at NHS Digital which runs the NHS website, said: “Getting the right health information to the public is essential, particularly during outbreaks of disease.

“Syndication from the NHS website means that people can be confident that the information they see meets the highest clinical standards.

“The more we can share accurate information, the less likelihood there is of inaccuracy and rumour, which could put people at risk.”

Other measures have included the verification of more than 800 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts belonging to the NHS. Twitter has also given free advertising to non-profit organisations that are focused on fact-checking and getting credible information to a wide audience.