Google search data could spot drugs side effects Researchers at Microsoft and Stanford University found people were searching for a serious side effect of combining two drugs, before doctors made the link themselves. Although drugs are rigorously tested, rarer side effects are often only picked up when they are put on the market and being taken by many thousands of people. This process can be slow as it relies on individuals informing drugs regulators. In a study of 2010 search data, the US team found an unusually high number of people were searching for the cholesterol-lowering drug pravastatin, the antidepressant paroxetine, and high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia). The following year doctors announced taking the two in combination could cause hyperglycaemia. Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, the authors said there was "potential public health benefit in listening to such signals."