This week, Facebook has announced the launch of its new tool called “Preventive Health” in order to raise awareness of your personal health issues.
The tool is one of the optional processes in the main Facebook app, which prompts users to get their medical checkups regularly, based on their age and sex.
In a statement, Facebook said, “Tens of millions of people in the US are missing out on recommended preventive care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
“Preventive measures have the potential to detect disease early when it’s most treatable and, in some cases, prevent it from developing. Yet factors such as awareness, access and cost create barriers to testing for many people,” it added.
The new tool that is now active on Facebook will take your personal information into consideration and recommend you to undergo medical checkups as per your age.
And if you choose to undergo a medical checkup, the social networking site will highlight the medical centers on the map where you can undergo tests. It also highlights federally certified medical centers to make sure you can find affordable health centers even if you do not have insurance.
You can make a booking after selecting a provider and then Facebook will record it through the Preventive Health application. It will also send you a notification on the day of your medical appointment.
The popular social networking site said that the initial focus of the Preventive Health app would be on common medical conditions such as “heart disease and cancer, along with the flu, with reminders of flu shots to help maximize awareness.”
Please note that the Preventive Health tool does not store any of your personal information related to your results. It simply prompts you with notifications to undergo medical check-ups. So, it does not keep a record of health like the Electronic Health Record (EHR) does.
Facebook said, “Your activity within Preventive Health will not be posted publicly or shared with others. Information you provide is securely stored and access is restricted to a group of people at Facebook who work on the product or maintain our systems.”
“We don’t share personal information about your activity in Preventive Health with third parties, such as health organizations or insurance companies, so it can’t be used for purposes like insurance eligibility,” it added. Indeed, it is a good initiative and will help many people to be aware of their potential health issues.
