Find out what Mumsnet testers thought of Healthily

[GraceEMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users who tested Healthily and its Smart Symptom Checker.

Testers, you can now share your feedback! Please do so by responding to the questions below on this thread, as well as filling in the survey that we have emailed to you.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?

All testers who leave the required feedback will receive a £5 Amazon voucher and an annual subscription to the Healthily app!

Here’s what Healthily has to say:

“Healthily is a health information website, an award-winning app and a sophisticated Smart Symptom Checker – one of the most accurate and advanced in the world. Healthily provides medically safe information that helps anyone, anywhere, decide on the best next steps and how to manage their health and wellbeing safely at home.”

Thanks!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

1.Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

Yes the symptom checker was easy to use. I liked the report at the end with actions I could take at home. Some of the questions were repeated so if I would change anything it would be that. Otherwise it was great.

1. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

Yes I liked the articles. They were easy to read and understand. I liked that there were links to other topics that I also might find useful. I like that there are no complicated terms without explanation.

3.Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly
Yes the website is easy to navigate - you can do so from a button on the top right or search. Lots of handy links too.

4.Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
Yes there was a lot of information relevant to health topics for my age and circumstances.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next? Yes when I put my symptoms into the checker it gave me a report and I knew what to do. I felt reassured that I could wait to speak to my Gp. I liked the way the content was written too - everything was very clear.,

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?
   Easy but restrictive - too black and white

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?
   Articles were good but nothing different than widely available

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?
   Website was easy to navigate

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   I didn’t find content engaging, which wasn’t what I expected. It wouldn’t be a go to source.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?
   Really disliked this part of site. Too black and white, with restrictive questions. It could easily cause anxiety as all symptoms led to go to dr and didn’t take into account wider environment or life. Have I felt stressed - yes I have a stressful job and I need a level of stress to be on my top game in a high pressure environment. That doesn’t mean I need to see dr!

1)Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

I found the symptom checker easy to use however it didn't allow me to put in the severity of my symptoms. For example, my symptoms I was using the checker were mild such as occasional dizziness and feeling light-headed, but there was no scale to enter how often or how severe these symptoms were. The result that came up suggested I went to A&E for urgent care, which did not fit my symptoms.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

I read a few articles on the Healthily site. I found some of them had basic information which I already knew but others were interesting and informative. The information was useful and easy to understand.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

Yes, the website was easy to navigate.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?

Yes, I felt there was articles that reflected health matters that are important to me.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?

Not really. I only had mild symptoms to check and the urgent care suggestion didn't fit my symptoms. I would try it again in the future with different concerns.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?
   Yes. I liked the multiple choice options . It didn’t really give me useful advice unfortunately.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?
   The articles were clear and easy . There were lots of different topics to choose from as well.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?
   Yes it was pretty intuitive.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   Yes on the whole it was good for me and my school aged children .

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next
   Yes on the whole although having since been to the go it didn’t pick up on an iron deficiency.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

Yes, very easy to use and relatively quick. However I found the questions lacked depth. I have several vitamin deficiencies but it did not pick up on this and gave me an incorrect ‘diagnosis’.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

The articles were good and well written. However, for a paid article database I would expect the articles to be more in-depth.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

Yes, the website was well designed.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?

Some of it. The information was varied enough that I could find something relevant to me.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?

I answered questions relating to my known deficiencies but it ‘diagnosed’ me with depression. I don’t have depression but some of the symptoms are similar when my deficiencies aren’t treated. Overall, if you’re going to set up something like this I think it needs to be very thorough and well-researched. I’m not sure this is.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?
   I found the Healthily Smart Symptom checker very easy to use. Apart from a couple of questions that seemed to be repeated, it was straightforward and better than just 'yes/no' questions.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?
   The articles were great and I have found a lot of information that is very useful to my own needs. Very easy to understand.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?
   The website is laid out very well. Links take you to different parts and there's more information if you need it. A well thought out website.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   Yes very much so.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?
   I used this for an ongoing health condition I have and it came up with the correct information. I am very confident in the accuracy of the Smart Symptom Checker.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?
   In contrast to most PPs I didn’t find this at all helpful for the two symptoms I looked up. It was visually well presented and inputting the information was easy but the first time it went through tons of questions about an itchy red patch of skin on my face (which I knew was eczema) and eventually diagnosed hives (no alternatives listed). Second go I put in symptoms of a verruca and just got told to make an appointment with a podiatrist which I didn’t find particularly helpful. Maybe my choices of symptoms weren’t very good though!

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?
   I liked the articles, they had a good balance between being straightforward but also imparting new and/or useful information. I liked the emphasis on small changes and taking into account busy lifestyles. Unfortunately due to work I’m incredibly busy at the moment and although I read the articles and thought the advice was good I’ve not really had chance to implement as I’ve not got much headspace or time for anything! I will bookmark the website though as I liked it and would be interested in downloading the app to make it more easily accessible.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?
   Yes it was easy enough to navigate but I would like to see the healthy lifestyle section more prominently positioned than it is at present. I also would have like the advice articles to have the simple actions that you can do straightaway featured more prominently towards the beginning.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   Yes it was generally - especially the healthy living sections as that’s what I’m most interested in at the moment. The women’s health sections didn’t seem so relevant to me at this point I’m my life. Skimming through the latest articles section there seemed to be a good number of those that I’d be interested in reading.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?
   I didn’t find the symptom checker at all helpful for the symptoms I looked up (see my answer to Q1) and it didn’t give me any useful advice about what to do next. I have tried again giving symptoms for gallstones (which I’ve had in the past) and it diagnosed kidney stones. I suppose I’d have more confidence if it had also provided an alternative diagnosis of gallstones (as obviously they’re very similar). As it stands I wouldn’t have a great deal of confidence in using it as opposed to just googling symptoms.

1- yes easy to use and simple direct questions.

2- lots of useful informative articles. Some a bit too in-depth and long winded but could find everything I needed to.

3- website was really easy to navigate and plenty of information to read about various issues

4- yes, great that it takes into account age related issues and needs.

5- the content was ok, but it states for a headache that I have been suffering as a migraine sufferer to go direct the hospital! But I felt comfortable using the checker and would definitely use again.

1. die I find healthily easily to use ?? Yes I found it so easy to use.im not very good with technology and usually struggle but this was so easy to navigate
2. what did I think of the articles ? I found the articles gave obvious answers which I already knew so no new information gained really 3)was the website easy to navigate ? Yes very very easy to navigate
3. was the health content relevant to me ? Yes very relevant
4. did the health checker address my health concerns ? Did I feel confident? Yes it did address my health concerns .I would use it to look at my symptoms and maybe put my mind at ease

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features? Yes very straightforward to use. some questions seem a bit repetitive. Shame it can't be used for under 16s, sometimes I'm looking for advice on the kids. Like a previous poster I'd rather it just asked my sex, rather than "assigned sex", there's already a little disclaimer on there about gender. It did tell me I needed to see a doctor within 12 hours because it thought I had covid. Not sure the doctor would agree

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand? Easy to understand but nothing mindblowing. I already knew most of what I read

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly? Yes plenty to look at but it seemed pretty generic. My son has a medical condition related to his kidneys that I always struggle to find any info on, there was none here either :P

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs? In parts. There are some where I'd like more detail

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next? I'm not sure it seemed to suggest seeing a doctor quite readily, and I tried it out with a few things. Maybe I set my bar too high before I seek advice!

1) Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

I did find the symptom checker easy to use. It worked well on the whole at honing in with specific questions to get more accurate differentials. It felt less clunky than the NHS 111 version.

2) What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

Yes, the information was quite general but went into interesting topics eg melatonin for sleep.

3) Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

Yes, the website felt user-friendly

4) Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
Yes. It might work well to have more prominent sections on children’s health given the target audience.

5) Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?

Yes, I was impressed with the accuracy of the symptom checker and its follow-up advice was clear

1) Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

Yes I found it quick and easy to use and likely accurate - the symptoms I put in brought up anaemia which is an ongoing issue and reminded me to get more iron tablets!

2) What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?
The articles were clear and well written. They packed a lot in without being too long.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

I wasn't as keen on finding information on the website - for me the app is likely to be more useful if it's well structured.

4) Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
Yes, I especially liked the content on menopause and healthy lifestyle.

5) Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?
Yes and no. I went and got iron tablets but ideally the symptom checker would offer access to a private GP appointment, maybe by linking in with private healthcare.

BTW the above last point is really more a reflection on the shambolic state of GP services atm, not a criticism of healthily! It's just linking it in with some kind of medical consultation through the app might be a helpful direction to take it in.

ps: and yes, like others the 'assigned sex' irked me. By all means offer man / woman / other as options and let those it's relevant to disappear off down that rabbit hole if they wish. 99.9% of the population will click man or woman / male or female.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?
   Yes, it was easy to use and very straight forward. But could do with more options as these were quite limited.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand? I thought they were simply and easy to read but didn’t really have enough information in them. A bit too basic.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?
   Yes, it was easy to navigate but sometimes had to scroll a lot to find what I was looking for.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   It was but the information was fairly basic and nothing new.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?
   Not really, it was completely off track with its suggestion.

1. easy to use but getting started lacked direction.

2. some good content but i wasnt sure how much i believed in the authors credentials.

3. yes! All was very clear.

4. yes again, and lots of it!

5)yes, once i got the hang of it.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

I found it easy to use but sometimes found the questions seemed to repeat. I didn't have any favourite features. Although some of the answers to the questions asked, answered things for me that I didn't know about.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

The articles were interesting. They were easy to read and understand. Some of the information was useful but you do need to see a GP too.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

Yes I could navigate the website easily.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?

Sometimes but not all the time.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?

Not for me, they actually told me I should see a GP about something I don't have. I know as I am having a lot of tests for other stuff regularly.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features? Yes I found it incredibly easy, it was simple to understand and very straight forward.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand? I thought the articles were very thought out and easy to understand and read.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly? Yes

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs? Yes

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next? Yes

1) Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

Yes. I liked that it was quite thorough in the assessment and asked a wide range of questions.

2) What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

I liked them. It felt like there was a good mix of holistic and scientific advice. The information was written in an easy to read way but I think the articles could be more visually pleasing. I find it easy for my mind to wander when reading blocks of black text on a white page

3) Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

Yes, easy to sort through with helpful links.

4) Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?

Yes and I liked that there were articles with similar topics easily available once you'd read your chosen article

5) Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?

It did give me the answer I was expecting (used it for a condition I already know about) but it did suggest a GP appointment within 48 hours which is in no way attainable! It gave me some useful advice that I can use to research myself, though

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

Yes, very straightforward and seemed thorough. However using one set of symptoms the solution was that cancer ‘needs to be ruled out’ but it didn’t seem to give any alternative possibilities which could be frightening for some people

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?

I though some were a bit basic to be honest and nothing you couldn’t find yourself with a dimple googled search

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?

Yes. The website is quite well laid out and easy to use.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?

Yes

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?

Not fully, it doesn’t seem to like to give differential diagnoses. Eg it said I have carpal tunnel but didn’t mention that there are also other conditions that could cause the same symptoms

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?

Not really - some questions were repeated and I didnt feel like I trusted it as much as e.g 111 or the NHS website.
2) What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?
Yes! I thought they were clear and truthful but probably wouldn't go there, just do a Google search in the future

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?
   Yes.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   Yes.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?
   Not really - I didn't feel I trusted it as much as I thought, especially because I'm pregnant and would definitely seek a second opinion if I were worried about something, even if the flowchart said I was fine

Did you find the healthily smart symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features? Yes I found it easy to use and like that it kept asking different questions.

What did you think of the articles on the healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand? I found the articles very interesting and it's nice to have a website to use to look things up.

Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly? Yes very easy to use.

Was the health content relevant to you and your needs? Yes it was and useful too.

Did the content and smart symptom checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next? I found it useful and informative but as with everything if you are concerned go to the GP etc.

Overall I found Healthily very informative but the monthly subscription is expensive.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features? Yes it was so clear and easy to find the symptoms I was experiencing. I liked how efficient it was.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand? Yes it was clear, easy to follow and I felt confident in the information I received.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly? Very quick, great if you are short on time.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   I liked how the content was written by professionals, there is so much misinformation out there.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next? Yes, I entered information about a previous condition I had had and it came to the same conclusion as the doctor I saw.

1. Did you find the Healthily Smart Symptom checker easy to use? If so, what were your favourite features?
   Overall I found it easy to use as a basic self check tool.

2. What did you think of the articles on the Healthily website? Was the information useful and easy to understand?
   I enjoyed the articles- good informative advice collated in one place. They were easy to read and well set out.

3. Were you able to navigate the website easily and find the information you wanted quickly?
   Yes it was easy to use. The links were all logical and took you through the website in a clear, easy way.

4. Was the health content relevant to you and your needs?
   It was- I felt it focused on different life stages of women well I was able to access clear, informative advice easily.

5. Did the content and Smart Symptom Checker address any health concerns you had? Did you feel confident about what to do next?
   I think because I had 2 symptoms I confused it a little with my first try! I happened to have a little bleed in my eye at the time of testing (never had this before). I also had a headache but the app didn’t seem to like me putting both symptoms in. However, I have had stomach issues in the past so used these symptoms and this worked well, taking me through logically before making suggestions.
   Overall it felt like a good first step for deciding if further investigation may be needed.

Has anyone received the voucher yet?