5 Suggestions for Evaluating a Healthcare Web Site
Look at the address of the web site.
Web site addresses ending in ".com: are generally commercial sites - their primary goal is to sell products or services. Web sites ending with ".org" belong to the not-for-profit charities, social service organizations, or not-for-profit hospitals. Sites ending in ".edu" are educational institutions, such as colleges and universities. United States government sites end in ".gov" or ".us". Knowing how the site is registered (as a .com, .org, .edu .gov) can help you determine the objectivity of the information.
Look for a privacy policy.
A privacy policy tells you what information is collected from visitors to the site (knowingly and unknowingly), what might be done with the information, how your information is protected, and your rights at the site. Look for a privacy policy link on the homepage or an "about us" section on the site. If the site is a sub-section of a larger site, you may find the privacy policy at the primary site. Provide personal information only if you believe it will be protected.
Look for a physical address.
A legitimate web site should clearly display a street address at which you can find real people connected to the site. Beware of a site without a street address. If you are still curious, find a registered owner of the site using the Who I feature at www.register.com .
Look for an author and a date.
Anyone - including your mother and neighbors - can put anything on the Internet. If it is healthcare information you’ve found, a healthcare professional should be acknowledged for the preparation or review of that material. Information should be dated to help you decide if it’s still applicable. Unless you are exploring a history site, you’ll want materials no more than a few years old.
A dose of skepticism goes a long way.
Unfortunately, the anonymity of the Internet makes it the perfect place to market quack therapies. Be a good detective; validate the information before believing. (Remember the tip above - anyone can put anything on the Internet.) If you find something of interest from an unfamiliar source, print it and ask a healthcare professional you trust.
This article is from The American Brain Tumor Association publication, MESSAGELINE,
Spring 2006, Volume XXXIII Issue I.
Look at the address of the web site.
Web site addresses ending in ".com: are generally commercial sites - their primary goal is to sell products or services. Web sites ending with ".org" belong to the not-for-profit charities, social service organizations, or not-for-profit hospitals. Sites ending in ".edu" are educational institutions, such as colleges and universities. United States government sites end in ".gov" or ".us". Knowing how the site is registered (as a .com, .org, .edu .gov) can help you determine the objectivity of the information.
Look for a privacy policy.
A privacy policy tells you what information is collected from visitors to the site (knowingly and unknowingly), what might be done with the information, how your information is protected, and your rights at the site. Look for a privacy policy link on the homepage or an "about us" section on the site. If the site is a sub-section of a larger site, you may find the privacy policy at the primary site. Provide personal information only if you believe it will be protected.
Look for a physical address.
A legitimate web site should clearly display a street address at which you can find real people connected to the site. Beware of a site without a street address. If you are still curious, find a registered owner of the site using the Who I feature at www.register.com .
Look for an author and a date.
Anyone - including your mother and neighbors - can put anything on the Internet. If it is healthcare information you’ve found, a healthcare professional should be acknowledged for the preparation or review of that material. Information should be dated to help you decide if it’s still applicable. Unless you are exploring a history site, you’ll want materials no more than a few years old.
A dose of skepticism goes a long way.
Unfortunately, the anonymity of the Internet makes it the perfect place to market quack therapies. Be a good detective; validate the information before believing. (Remember the tip above - anyone can put anything on the Internet.) If you find something of interest from an unfamiliar source, print it and ask a healthcare professional you trust.
This article is from The American Brain Tumor Association publication, MESSAGELINE,
Spring 2006, Volume XXXIII Issue I.
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