The available tools are largely unregulated, and do not reliably guide people to the right care at the right time
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.
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