IF you turn to Dr Google more often than your GP, the antidote may have been found.

A new website, curated by a board of prominent Melbourne doctors, aims to strip Dr Google of its stethoscope once and for all, with animations and verified information on more than 400 health conditions.

The website, being launched on Sunday by Melbourne start-up Health&, presents topics on the risks of medical tourism and why babies refuse to eat, to the causes of headaches and treating anaphylaxis.

Chair of the project’s advisory board Leon Piterman, Professor of General Practice at Monash University, said while patients had access to more health information than ever, it often lacked the context or personalisation to make it useful.

“The danger of Dr Google is the same danger as trying to self-diagnose or self-manage in any circumstance,” Prof Piterman said.

“People can get unnecessarily anxious about the symptoms they’ve got.

“What they need is validated and simply presented information, which can be supplemented with what the doctor says in relation to their specific symptoms.”

Health experts editing the content include Monash IVF International Medical Director Professor Gab Kovacs, Professor John Murtagh who wrote the textbook General Practice, and Director of Monash Heart Professor Ian Meredith.

One in 20 of the 100 billion Google searches a month is for health-related information.

The US is overhauling how it displays health-related search queries, partnering with the Mayo Clinic to ensure more credible information is the most accessible.

But it has not confirmed if and when the Australian site will be revamped.

Mother-of-three Nicole Bailey was living interstate away from her family when she had her first child, who constantly cried, and she developed a mild form of post-natal depression.

“The doctors constantly said she was fine, but I was constantly Googling, why is my baby screaming all the time,” Ms Bailey said.

“It came up with really scary and extreme stuff.”

The next stage of the website will require an annual subscription, where it becomes a quasi e-health record platform for storing health information and tracking lifestyle changes.

brigid.oconnell@news.com.au