• Trust what you find on the Internet only if the information is from a reliable source.  Authors and site sponsors should be easily identified. Contact information such as email address and phone number should also be provided.
   

• Sponsorship, advertising, and commercial funding should be separate from the health information on the site.  Will the site gain from promoting a particular product or opinion to its users?
   

• Is the health information on the site professionally reviewed by an editorial board? If so, the sources should be credited.
   

• Read the website’s disclaimer and privacy statements.  Be sure that any personal information you provide is kept confidential. Look for the TRUSTe icon to be sure that the site is reputable and respects your privacy.
   

• Health information is constantly changing. Be sure the websites you are using are current. Look to see that updates are occurring regularly.
   

• Do not believe any on-line physicians who claim to diagnose or treat without a proper physical exam or medical history.  Be careful when navigating through websites that have chat rooms or message boards…do not take the statements of other users to be “expert” opinions.
   

• Be sure the information is suitable for you (ie: consumer or healthcare professional.) Otherwise, you may be frustrated by the site if the language is too basic or too difficult to understand.
   

• Be careful about extravagant claims or statements. Read the fine print carefully. Use common sense…if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
   

• Do not rely on just one site for health information. Search multiple sites to get multiple opinions.
   

• Information you find on the Internet should never take the place of a discussion with your healthcare provider.

Search for:

• Government websites

These websites offer health information that is provided by the government. The sites end in the “.gov” suffix and may be accessed through the portal site: http://www.firstgov.gov.

• Organizations with a reliable track record in health information

These websites are offered by groups that usually are nonprofit organizations and may have the suffix “.org”.

• Links to reputable medical schools or universities

These websites are offered by educational institutions and typically have an “.edu” suffix.

• Use an accredited health information search engine or website for the most accurate information

One example of a website that lists criteria for evaluating the content on websites is: http://www.hon.ch . This is a search engine that will find accredited websites for health information.

The Internet Healthcare Coalition (http://www.ihealthcoalition.org)