Google said to mull health service

Google is weighing a new service that will allow Web surfers to search for specific healthcare information, according to The Wall Street Journal. Although no official announcement has yet been made, the company has assigned a senior engineer to work on the project. The newspaper looks at health-focused "vertical search" engines developed by a number of companies including WebMD, Healthline, Mamahealth and Kosmix.com. Bay area-based MedStory, which currently offers a service for medical professionals, plans to launch a new consumer healthcare search service. RevolutionHealth, the new company launched by AOL-founder Steve Case, expects to launch a service later this year that will allow consumers to manage their healthcare information.

- see this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)