Evaluating Medical Information on the Web

Anyone with a computer and Internet access can publish on the Web, so judging the trustworthiness of scientific and health-related Web sites becomes the responsibility of each individual user. The following questions and answers, adapted from U.S. Food and Drug Administration Publication No. (FDA) 98-1253, serve as a starting point for evaluating medical Web sites. See also links to additional resources on this topic.

Is This Site Reliable?

Who maintains the site? Is there an editorial board or another listing of the names and credentials of those responsible for preparing and reviewing the site's contents?

A responsible Web site should identify and describe the sponsoring organization as well as provide contact information that visitors can use to ask questions, request additional information, or send comments about site content.

Government or university-run sites are often good sources for scientifically sound health and medical information. Private practitioners or lay organizations may have marketing, social, or political agendas that can influence the type of material they offer on-site and which sites they link to.

A couple of good resource for accessing government-sponsored health information is Healthfinder (http://www.healthfinder.gov/) and the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINEplus (http://medlineplus.gov/).

Does the site link to other good sources of medical information?

A reputable organization will not position itself as the sole source on a particular health topic and will link to complementary sources of information. Links alone are not a guarantee of reliability; any Web site can link to other sites, including those that contain questionable information.

Does the site provide references to reputable sources?

If you have questions concerning the validity of medical information that you have found on the Web, print out the pages, and bring it to your doctor for evaluation. He or she should be able to tell you if the source of the information can be trusted. The health information that you find on the Web should be supported by legitimate research sources such as peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles or proceedings from scientific meetings. The following guides contain tips and criteria for distinguishing popular or trade magazines from scientific, scholarly journals. Since these guides have been produced by academic institutions, some of the databases and other resources described may only be available through a university or college library.

Scholarly Versus Popular Information - An educational module that is part of Internet Navigator, a Web-delivered information literacy course developed by a team of academic librarians in Utah. Although it is targeted to high school or first-year college and university students, anyone can use this resource to build basic research skills for using libraries and the Internet.

Popular Magazines vs. Trade Magazines vs. Scholarly Journals - This site from the Colorado State University Libraries describes general criteria for distinguishing between popular magazines and scholarly journals. Criteria for evaluating articles available on the Web also are included.

Whenever you are researching a condition that affects you or someone you know, even if health-related information comes from a source that is reputed to be reliable, always check with a doctor to make sure that it is appropriate for your situation.

When was the site last updated?

Generally, the more current the site, the more likely it is to provide timely material. Ideally, health and medical sites should be updated weekly or monthly.

Has the site been reviewed for mistakes in grammar or spelling?

If a site contains several grammatical, spelling, or other errors, it shows that the content has not been carefully reviewed, and therefore its accuracy may be questionable.

Are informative graphics and multimedia files such as video or audio clips available?

These features can be useful in clarifying and explaining medical conditions and procedures, but they should not substitute for sound information.

Additional Resources for Evaluating Health-Related Web Sites

A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web - Find content evaluation guidelines and recommended sources from the Medical Library Association.

Ten Things to Know about Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web - Ten basic questions to consider when evaluating medical resources on the Web. From the National Cancer Institute.

Evaluating Health Information - A collection of resources from MEDLINEplus (http://medlineplus.gov/), a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

Quack Watch - This Web site is dedicated to increasing public awareness of health-related frauds and fallacies. In addition to providing guides and tips for evaluating health-related resources, this site also includes lists of products, services, theories, and advertisements that are considered questionable or not recommended by the medical community.

Virtual "Treatments" Can Be Real-World Deceptions - This Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Alert provides a list of tips to help consumers spot phony and deceptive claims in advertisements for health-related products or therapies. It also tells consumers how to file a complaint with the FTC and provides a link to a collection of consumer information resources. See also Health Claims on the Internet: Buyer Beware.

Understanding URLs - A brief overview describing how to interpret Internet addresses. This overview is part of a larger online guide, Using the Internet to Find Health Information, that is provided by the University of North Carolina Health Sciences Library.

QUICK: The QUality Information ChecKlist - Targeted to a younger audience and produced by two nonprofit organizations in the United Kingdom, this site can serve as an educational aid for individuals of all ages. Evaluation criteria are presented in a checklist of questions and answers, with examples to illustrate each point.

Whom Do You Trust? Evaluating Internet Health Resources - An article from the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing providing evaluation criteria and links to Web evaluation sites. Published January 28, 1999.

Criteria for Assessing the Quality of Health Information on the Internet - A policy paper presenting seven criteria to assess the quality of online health material. Created by the Health Summit Working Group (HSWG) of Mitretek Systems.

Current Health Related Hoaxes and Rumors - In addition to evaluating medical Web sites, consumers should also be aware of sources they can access to debunk medical misinformation posted on message boards or forwarded in e-mails. This list of current health-related hoaxes and rumors is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A more comprehensive collection of rumors, hoaxes, and urban legends on a variety of subjects can be accessed from Urban Legends and Folklore with David Emery at About.com.