Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Another entry into the online health search engine/social networking platform space
iMedix bills itself as a new way to find and share health information. Its home page features quotes from various media sources proclaiming its greatness, including this one from the New York Times: "iMedix could revolutionize the way people take care of themselves."
The site allows users to search for comprehensive health information from top sources across the web, and to connect with people who would like to discuss and share similar health experiences.
At iMedix, you are not alone, coping with fear and confusion regarding your medical condition. Whether you're looking for symptoms, diseases, treatments, or simply general health information, you will be searching together with many other people. Members of the iMedix community assist each other by sharing their experiences and ranking medical content in order to make health information personal, organized and accessible to any individual.
Elsewhere on the site, we learn about how iMedix connects patients:
iMedix matches people who suffer from similar conditions and allows them to chat with each other in real time. Patients can also send offline messages to each other through a private messaging system. The communication is private and secure and empowers patients to make better informed decisions through interaction and valuable sharing of knowledge.
iMedix goes beyond the support group model of Daily Strength's social networking platform with its search engine functionality. A search for "breast cancer" brought up hits from several good sources. Each hit is also rated by users (though not in any significant number). iMedix prides itself not only on the relevancy of its search results, but also their reliability:
Reliable sources of information are paramount to online health seekers. iMedix provides consumers with filtered results approved by top medical accreditation organizations such as HON, URAC and others. In addition, iMedix provides a clear indication of the author or source of each article.
I have to admit, I am impressed. I hope I'll remember to use iMedix in the future.