Healthcare Information Retrieval
Careful, source-aware use of search APIs to surface medical information with provenance.
The problem
Health information on the open web spans a huge credibility range, from peer-reviewed clinical guidance to unverified forum anecdotes, and a system that surfaces medical information without distinguishing between those tiers risks presenting speculation with the same apparent authority as a clinical source.
How the workflow is built
Queries are deliberately scoped toward higher-authority domains — medical institutions, government health agencies, peer-reviewed journal sites — using `site:` filters or domain allowlists rather than open web search, and every result surfaced to an end user carries its source and publish date so provenance is visible, not implied.
Example queries
site:nih.gov OR site:cdc.gov "type 2 diabetes" management guidelines"drug interaction" [medication A] [medication B] site:fda.govclinical trial results "[condition]" 2025 site:clinicaltrials.gov
Pitfalls to watch for
- Medical guidance changes as evidence evolves, and a search result's age is directly load-bearing here in a way it isn't for most verticals — an outdated guideline surfaced without its date is actively misleading.
- Domain authority alone isn't sufficient filtering; even reputable-looking health sites publish commercially-motivated content, so a domain allowlist needs real curation, not just a general 'trust .gov and .edu' heuristic.
- Any system in this vertical needs an explicit, visible disclaimer that search-surfaced information isn't a diagnosis or treatment recommendation — this is a domain where the line between informational and advisory matters legally as well as ethically.