In a Press Release today, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Medstory, a start-up company that develops search engine technology specifically for health and healthcare information.

According to Microsoft, this move signifies “a strategic move for Microsoft in the consumer health search arena and signals a long-term commitment toward the development of a broader consumer health strategy.”

Employees from Medstory will become employees of the Health Solutions Group, a recently formed division at Microsoft.

Medstory’s mission is to enable users to search health and medicine efficiently and with confidence. Unlike results from general search engines, Medstory’s results are based on “intuitive search technology”, which provides prequalified information to consumers and health professionals conducting health-related research

“Instead of trying to force people to think in terms of the way a computer searches, we’re enabling computers to more intuitively conduct searches in the way that people think,” said Dr. Alain Rappaport, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and founder of Medstory.

For more information, visit medstory.com. The link will open in a new window.