The Geneva-based Health on the Net Foundation's voluntary set of ethical
standards for health Web sites can help consumers discern the veracity of
online information, but some say the standards are not always the best way
to find reliable health information online, the Washington Post reports.
The HONcode, created in 1995, is the oldest and most prevalent of Internet
information codes, covering more than 3,500 Web sites based in 67 countries,
the Post reports. The HON site also features a search engine for medical
information, and results come only from HON-accredited sites. The group
accredits sites that abide by a set of eight principles; these sites are
then allowed to display the HONcode logo. The standards require that
information providers reveal potential conflicts of interest, list
credentials for authors relaying medical information and reference their
information sources. Celia Boyer, executive director of HON, said the
group's main issue is checking up on old accreditation, and that HON is
developing ways to continuously check compliance, the Post reports.
Boyer said HON has trouble keeping up with information on complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM) on Web sites, some of which display the HONcode
seal but are not accredited. Dr. Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist and
editor of the Quackwatch Web site, has launched a campaign to improve Web
sites' compliance with the code for CAM. Barrett said some sites displaying
the HONcode logo make it difficult to separate "fact from wishful thinking"
when complementary and alternative medicines are concerned, the Post
reports.
Healthfinder.gov, for example, a health information clearinghouse funded by
the U.S. government, includes the HONcode and links to more than 1,700
sites, most of which are HON-compliant. The site links to government Web
sites, federally funded research centers and national professional
associations of licensed health care practitioners.
Barrett, who agreed that the site is mostly a reliable source for health
information, said several of Healthfinder.gov's links are "questionable."
Several of the linked sites, for example, only contain positive results of
homeopathic research and take a noncritical stance on homeopathy and
neuropathy. David Baker, senior publishing adviser for Healthfinder.gov,
said the site aims to help people find legitimate information sources.
Barrett also has targeted other health sites, such as CAM information
clearinghouses and even health insurers' Web sites for questionable links or
presentation of health findings (Wanjek, Washington Post, 4/20).
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/index.cfm?Action=dspItem&itemID=101971
Mark Duman MRPharmS
health communications consultant
Co-Chair, www.pecmi.org
Cell: +972 (0)55 944 979
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