The data comes from ED and outpatient doc visits so it "assumes" a certain level of concern from the user at the outset. However, the algorithms can learn so that less severe diagnoses ("lack of sleep", "caffeine withdrawal", etc) will rise to the top as more people indicate that is the problem.
Couldn't you just add a prior probability that someone has any problem? Going to the ER is much more difficult than typing something into a web app, so you should use your expert knowledge to adjust that.
It would also seem like a better approach would be to have a prior that's much lower for the internet and is never updated based on user searches, then continue hand-entering real records for quality control purposes. Otherwise, sooner or later some internet community (4chan, SA, etc) will get carried away and start manipulating your system to make everyone think they're dying of elephantiasis.
Agreed, and that's a very reasonable place to start for conditions that are not challenging diagnoses but rather explanations for common symptoms (eg too little sleep, bumped my knee, etc).
WRT abuse, we're going to require the log-in and user consent before collecting any data and allow people to maintain, in effect, their own medical record. We can monitor for abuse (eg someone who seems to visit a hospital thousands of times / day).
