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Health-related information from Healthline populates the Smart Answers field in Ask's search results as an enhancement to the search engine's ability to handle health queries.

Ask Makes Smart Answers Healthier

With technology companies ranging from the titans of the Internet to the stealthiest web startups locking on to health-related information, we think signs point to 2008 being a big year for healthcare and the online world.

Ask's director of online information resources, Gary Price, let us know about the new Health Smart Answers appearing on Ask.com now, as the company takes a step toward the melding of health information with search resources. Here's a sample query on hip replacement, a common procedure these days for many people.

A study Ask commissioned with Harris Interactive found that people rely on the Internet nearly as much as they do their primary doctors when it comes to healthcare information. It's an area where Ask wants to be in front those searchers with information at their fingertips (as Gary likes to refer to Smart Answers.)

Partnerships with Healthline and ex-AOL CEO Steve Case's Revolution Health provide content - including medical definitions, images, links to reference materials and other data - for Health Smart Answers on Ask.