How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet

[Guest guest]

Source: FDA News

Link: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/evalhealthinfo.html

How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet

Millions of consumers are using the Internet to

get health information. And thousands of Web sites are offering health

information. Some of those sites are reliable and up-to-date; some are not. How

can you tell the good from the bad?

First, it's important to carefully consider the

source of information and then to discuss the information you find with your

health care professional. These questions and answers can help you determine

whether the health information you find on the Internet or receive by e-mail

from a Web site is likely to be reliable.

Qs & As: Evaluating

Internet Health Information

1. Who runs the Web site?

Any good health Web site should make it easy to

learn who is responsible for the site and its information. On the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration's (FDA) Web site, for example, the FDA is clearly noted on

every major page, along with a link to the site's home (main) page, www.fda.gov.

Information about who runs the site can often be

found in an " About Us " or " About This Web Site " section,

and there's usually a link to that section on the site's home page.

2. What is the purpose of the Web site?

Is the purpose of the site to inform? Is it to

sell a product? Is it to raise money? If you can tell who runs and pays for the

site, this will help you evaluate its purpose. Be cautious about sites trying

to sell a product or service.

Quackery abounds on the Web. Look for these

warning signs and remember the adage " If it sounds too good to be true, it

probably is. "

·

Does

the site promise quick, dramatic, miraculous results? Is this the only site

making these claims?

·

Beware

of claims that one remedy will cure a variety of illnesses, that it is a

" breakthrough, " or that it relies on a " secret ingredient. "

·

Use

caution if the site uses a sensational writing style (lots of exclamation

points, for example.)

·

A

health Web site for consumers should use simple language, not technical jargon.

Get a second opinion. Check more than one site.

3. What is the original source of the

information on the Web site?

Always pay close attention to where the

information on the site comes from. Many health and medical Web sites post

information collected from other Web sites or sources. If the person or

organization in charge of the site did not write the material, the original

source should be clearly identified. Be careful of sites that don't say where

the information comes from.

Good sources of health information include

·

Sites

that end in " .gov, " sponsored by the federal government, like the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (www.hhs.gov),

the FDA (www.fda.gov), the

National Institutes of Health (www.nih.gov),

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov),

and the National Library of Medicine (www.nlm.nih.gov)

·

..edu

sites, which are run by universities or medical schools, such as s Hopkins

University School of Medicine and the University

of California at Berkeley Hospital,

health system, and other health care facility sites, like the Mayo Clinic and

Cleveland Clinic

·

..org

sites maintained by not-for-profit groups whose focus is research and teaching

the public about specific diseases or conditions, such as the American Diabetes

Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association

·

Medical

and scientific journals, such as The New England Journal of Medicine and the

Journal of the American Medical Association, although these aren't written for

consumers and could be hard to understand.

·

Sites

whose addresses end in .com are usually commercial sites and are often selling

products.

4. How is the information on the Web site

documented?

In addition to identifying the original source

of the material, the site should identify the evidence on which the material is

based. Medical facts and figures should have references (such as citations of

articles in medical journals). Also, opinions or advice should be clearly set

apart from information that is " evidence-based " (that is, based on

research results).

5. How is information reviewed before it is

posted on the Web site?

Health-related Web sites should give information

about the medical credentials of the people who prepare or review the material

on the Web site.

6. How current is the information on the Web

site?

Web sites should be reviewed and updated on a

regular basis. It is particularly important that medical information be

current, and that the most recent update or review date be clearly posted.

These dates are usually found at the bottom of the page. Even if the

information has not changed, it is helpful to know that the site owners have

reviewed it recently to ensure that the information is still valid. Click on a

few links on the site. If there are a lot of broken links, the site may not be

kept up-to-date.

7. How does the Web site choose links to other

sites?

Reliable Web sites usually have a policy about

how they establish links to other sites. Some medical Web sites take a

conservative approach and do not link to any other sites; some link to any site

that asks or pays for a link; others link only to sites that have met certain

criteria. Look for the Web site's linking policy, often found in a section

titled " About This Web Site. "

8. What information about its visitors does the

Web site collect, and why?

Web sites routinely track the path visitors take

through their sites to determine what pages are being used. However, many

health-related Web sites ask the visitor to " subscribe " or

" become a member. " In some cases, this may be done so they can

collect a fee or select relevant information for the visitor. In all cases, the

subscription or membership will allow the Web site owners to collect personal

information about their visitors.

Many commercial sites sell " aggregate "

data about their visitors to other companies—what percent are women with

breast cancer, for example. In some cases, they may collect and reuse

information that is personally identifiable, such as a visitor's ZIP code,

gender, and birth date.

Any Web site asking users for personal

information should explain exactly what the site will and will not do with the

information. The FDA Web site, for example, spells this out in its Privacy Statement. Be sure to read

and understand any privacy policy or similar language on the site, and don't

sign up for anything you don't fully understand.

9. How does the Web site manage interactions

with visitors?

There should always be a way for visitors to

contact the Web site owners with problems, feedback, and questions. The FDA's

Web site provides contact information on its Contact Us page.

If the site hosts a chat room or other online

discussion areas, it should tell its visitors about the terms of using the

service. Is the service moderated? If so, by whom, and why? It is always a good

idea to spend time reading the discussion without joining in, to feel

comfortable with the environment, before becoming a participant.

10. Can the accuracy of information received in

an e-mail be verified?

Carefully evaluate e-mail messages. Consider the

origin of the message and its purpose. Some companies or organizations use

e-mail to advertise products or attract people to their Web sites. The accuracy

of health information may be influenced by the desire to promote a product or

service.

11. Is the information that's discussed in chat

rooms accurate?

Assessing the reliability of health information

that you come across in Web discussion groups or chat rooms is at least as

important as it is for Web sites. Although these groups can sometimes provide

good information about specific diseases or disorders, they can also perpetuate

misinformation. Most Internet service providers don't verify what is discussed

in these groups, and you have no way of knowing the qualifications or

credentials of the other people online. Sometimes people use these groups to

promote products without letting on that they have a financial stake in the

business. It's best to discuss anything you learn from these groups with your

health care professional.

Here's how the federal

government protects consumers from false or misleading claims posted on the

Internet:

The Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) regulates drugs and medical devices to ensure that they are safe and

effective. The FDA's Buying Medicines

and Medical Products Online Web page and " Buying Prescription Medicines Online:

A Consumer Safety Guide " give guidance to consumers shopping for

health care products online. " Tips for the Savvy

Supplement User " gives advice about how to evaluate claims about

dietary supplements and what to look for in Web sites selling them.

Food and Drug Administration

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, MD 20857

1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332) (toll-free)

www.fda.gov

The Federal Trade Commission

(FTC) enforces consumer protection laws. As part of its mission, the FTC

investigates complaints about false or misleading health claims posted on the

Internet. The FTC's Operation

Cure-All page has information to help evaluate health product claims.

Federal Trade Commission

Consumer Response

Center CRC-240 Washington, DC 20580

1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) (toll-free)

TTY: 1-866-653-4261 (toll-free)

www.ftc.gov

Related Resources

Healthfinder

A DHHS site that is a gateway to consumer information. Its goal is to improve

consumer access to selected health information from government agencies, their

partner organizations, and other reliable sources that serve the public

interest.

MEDLINEplus

A consumer-oriented Web site established by the National Library of Medicine,

the world's largest biomedical library and creator of the MEDLINE database. It

offers health, drug, and disease information.

MEDLINEplus

Evaluating Health Information

MEDLINEplus

Healthy Websurfing

ClinicalTrials.gov

A site created by the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug

Administration to provide patients, family members, and members of the public

with current information about clinical research studies and clinical trials.

National Institutes of Health

How to Find

Medical Information

A Quick Checklist

You can use the following checklist to help make

sure that the health information you are reading online can be trusted.

·

Can you

easily see who sponsors the Web site?

·

Is the

sponsor a government agency, a medical school, or a reliable health-related

organization, or is it related to one of these?

·

Is

there contact information?

·

Can you

tell when the information was written?

·

Is your

privacy protected?

·

Does

the Web site make claims that seem too good to be true? Are quick, miraculous

cures promised?

Source: FDA

Website Management Staff

Shari

Ferbert

President,

AFFTER

Advocates for

Fibromyalgia Funding,

Treatment,

Education and Research

www.affter.org