Recent updates reveal 6 million people surf the Web for medical advice daily, but only a quarter follow rec- ommended guide- lines for evaluating the quality of a website’s advice. “It is imperative that consumers seek medical and health advice from reputable websites,” says Samanthi Hewakapuge, consumer health co- ordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. “Anyone can post information on the Internet, and one needs to be selective when searching for medical information.” Hewakapuge suggests starting
D
with websites from well-known health organizations and the govern- ment, such as the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS) of the Medical Library Association, which provides a search engine and a list of the top 100 health care websites at
http://caphis.mlanet .org/consumer/
index.html. The sites listed are reviewed based on guidelines developed by the Agency
5 6 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R J U N E 2 0 1 0
DO YOU RECEIVE MORE HEALTH INFORMATION FROM THE INTER- NET THAN FROM YOUR DOCTOR?
If so, you’re far from alone. In a 2008 national survey, the PewInternet and American Life Proj- ect found 72 million people in the U.S. have gone online to find health informa- tion. This accounts for 62 percent of all Internet users.
of Healthcare Research and Policy Consumers. The guidelines include credibility, sponsorship/authorship, content, audience, currency, disclo- sure, purpose, links, design, interac- tivity, and caveats. Consumers also should look for
websites that have taken the extra step of gaining accreditation from either the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) or the Health on the Net Foundation (HON). URAC is an independent, nonprofit organiza- tion promoting health care quality through accreditation and certifica- tion of websites. The organization began providing quality improvement for privacy and security, health con- tent, disclosure of financial relation- ships, linking policies, consumer complaints, and emerging best prac- tices 14 years ago. Websites requesting accreditation are evaluated against
more than 50 standards, developed by a committee of health care providers, consumers, and health website com- panies, to ensure they deliver quality health content and services. Sites are reevaluated annually and randomly in between, and any complaints will trigger an unscheduled review. Con- sumers can research information on accredited websites at
www.urac.org. HON, a nonprofit NGO accredited
by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, has been in operation for 12 years and focuses on the provision of health information on the Internet. To evaluate health care websites, the organization uses eight guiding principles, including qualification of authors, privacy of users, attribution of information, and ability to back claims. HON currently accredits roughly 6,800 websites in 118 countries. To find
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