Online H1N1 self-assessment tool launched

Microsoft has launched a new website, www.h1n1responsecenter.com, with a self-assessment tool to help individuals with flu-like symptoms determine whether their illness is severe enough to warrant immediate medical attention, and whether they are at risk for developing severe disease. The site also offers practical advice for those with flu-like symptoms.

The clinical content of the website is closely based on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention algorithm for health professionals that was designed for the 2009-2010 flu season, and jointly developed with the Emory University School of Medicine.

“This website is carefully designed to encourage those who are severely ill, and those at increased risk for serious illness, to contact their doctor[s] while reassuring large numbers of people with mild illness that it is safe to recover at home,” says Arthur Kellermann, MD, professor of emergency medicine and an associate dean at the Emory School of Medicine, in a prepared statement. “Hopefully, providing easy-to-understand information to the public will reduce the number of people who are needlessly exposed to H1N1 influenza in crowded clinic and ER waiting rooms and allow America’s doctors and nurses to focus their attention on those who need us most.”