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Amazon Echo has now teamed-up with WebMD to give its voice-controlled assistant, Alexa, the capabilities to diagnose and provide answers to customers on health-related questions and queries.

In 2015, Amazon Echo, a hands-free speaker, has been widely available in the United States and debuted worldwide in mid or late 2016. Since then, Echo has been providing its users with the convenience of accessing information on weather, sports and anything under the sun - hands-free and instantly! The device just needs to be connected to the Alexa Voice Service and voila! Alexa tends to your worries, questions and information issues. Now, Echo's stepping its range of services to its clients.

Amazon and WebMD's integration will allow users to not only access usual information source but also health queries that need answers right away. WebMD provides this interface with a pool of physicians and reliable health providers that validates and verifies answers to queries that are provided.

Aside from the usual things Amazon Echo provides, it can also control doors, lights, and devices- convenience at its finest, as Amazon describes.

To experience Alexa's expertise in health and diagnosis, the user must install WebMD in their Amazon Echo device and once done, may actually start asking questions starting off with, "Alex, ask WebMD ..." then supply your question. The feature does not only limit to voice; it also sends additional information to the user's phone as a text message when requested.

WebMD's Vice President Ben Greenberg said that one-third of the population surfing online consults WebMD's website for health-related questions, but now, they have another option and it's to use Amazon Echo's Alexa to access much-needed information effortlessly.

An article in the Forbes reminds its readers that although the Alexa interface can diagnose with the sound of your voice, it is still advisable to consult the doctor for serious health problems for it is dangerous to self-diagnose. The internet is a dungeon of worry and it's best to visit your doctor. However, it could be useful to know about drug side-effects and present health conditions. The device is available for $180.