Doctor Zuck, I'm so poorly right now! Facebook examines healthcare biz: report

Facebook is reportedly mulling over plans to step into the healthcare business – a move that would hardly be surprising given Google and Apple's interest in that market.

According to Reuters, which cited three unnamed people familiar with the matter, the Mark Zuckerberg-run free content ad network is looking at setting up "support communities" for Facebookers to use to discuss their ailments with strangers online.

The field for that particular snake oil advice trade is already heavily overstuffed elsewhere on the interwebs, but it's likely that Facebook is keen to scrape similar data from within its own silo.

The company - in recent months - has apparently been considering the development of "preventative care" apps. Additionally, it has also been locked in tentative talks with medical bods and entrepreneurs, the news wire reported.

Facebook wants to swerve criticism about privacy, apparently, by releasing its first health app under a different name, which New York's drag community might shrill at given the recent backlash the social network suffered over anonymity.

A sickly Facebooker, it would seem, is potentially good for stickability on the site.

There's a faint promise from Zuck insiders that ads for any of its planned health products would be less targeted than is the currently the case on TV and other media in the US.

Let's wait and see about that, shall we? ®