By Eilís Casey

“HOW CAN CONSUMERS VERIFY THE RELIABILITY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL INFORMATION

AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET?”

Mayo Clinic WebMD

SYMPTOM CHECKERS

http://symptoms.webmd.com/#./introView

www.mayoclinic.com/health/symptom-checker/DS00671

HEALTH ON THE NET FOUNDATION

http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Patients/Visitor/visitor.html

SCIENCE-BASED MEDICINE

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/reliability-of-health-information-on-the-web/

“…rates health care sites on a number of criteria. These include assessment of how authoritative the sources are, the level of transparency, and if opinions expressed are justifi ed with evidence and references. While generally reasonable , the HON assessment does not necessarily involve a thorough assessment of the quality of the science on a given website , and many sites with what I would consider dubious information have earned the HON seal of approval.”

SBM ON THE HON RATING

Reliability of Health Information on the WebPublished by Steven Novella.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/reliability-of-health-information-on-the-web/

Non-profi t

Academic

Individually Run

Commercial

HON CATEGORIES

“ . . . ”commerc ia l” a lso re fers to s i tes that monet ize content – not necessar i ly se l l ing products , but s imply provid ing content as the i r product in order to se l l advert is ing . This inc ludes s i tes such as WebMD.”

SBM’S VIEW ON WEB MD

http://www.webmd.com/

Learn more about yourself and how your body functions

Inexpensive

Helps you discuss your condition with your doctor (may also hinder if on wrong track)

Can relieve stress

Quick information

PROS OF SELF DIAGNOSIS

Creates stress

Websites run on simple database

Failure to detect a serious illness which causes general symptoms which could have multiple causes e.g.. fever

Suggestions of an extremely serious disease that you don’t have

CONS OF SELF DIAGNOSIS

EMBARRASSING BODIES

http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/

T.V Show

Popular

Medical Professionals

Deal with common problems

Speak directly to the public

Video appointments

EMBARRASSING BODIES

EMBARRASSING BODIES

Picture Gallery

My Health CheckerSmart Phone App

Look for Sites from Established Institutions

Look for Sites With Expertise

HOW TO CHECK WEBSITES (1)

Steer Clear of Commercial Sites

Beware Bias

HOW TO CHECK WEBSITES (2)

Check the Date

Look at the Site's Layout

HOW TO CHECK WEBSITES (3)

Avoid Anonymous Authors

Check the Links

HOW TO CHECK WEBSITES (4)

BCM

http://www.bcm.edu/

UNRELIABLE WEBSITES

http://www.bioedonline.org/news/news.cfm?art=1200

Be aware

Research

Don’t be stressed

Seek advice

CONCLUSION

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING