THE WEB HAS MORE THAN 20,000 general medical sites, not including the thousands of news groups, chat rooms and mailing lists dedicated to specific diseases and health issues. It’s no wonder many people become discouraged or confused when they turn to the Internet for reliable health information.

The following guidelines can help you find information that’s accurate, easy to understand and reputable.

Always check with your doctor before making any changes to your health care regimen based on something you read online.

Use Common Sense

• Be aware that some health sites publish information that’s wrong, out of date or even dangerous.
• Be skeptical of any site that guarantees a remedy or promises miracle cures. No health treatment can produce such results.
• Skim through the material to determine if it serves your needs. If it doesn’t, move on to another site.
• For basic information, try to find a site sponsored by an institution or organization in which you have confidence, perhaps the Mayo Clinic or the National Institutes of Health.
• Trust what you read only if you know the source of the information is credible.
• Read a Web site’s privacy statement before giving any personal information and make certain that it will be kept confidential.
• Don’t be impressed by a comprehensive list of links. Any site can link to other ones, and this in no way implies endorsement from the others.
• Check when the site was last updated because health information changes often. Those that aren’t regularly updated may have incorrect information.
• Avoid any site with an online physician who proposes to diagnose or treat you without a proper physical examination and a consultation regarding your medical history.

Look for These Features

• An “about this site” section with an explanation of the site’s purpose
• Information presented in a clear, unbiased way
• Consumer health information that’s kept separate from product advertising
• A seal of approval from a consumer health organization, such as Health on the Net Foundation (HON)
• A statement indicating a partnership with a medical association, major university or medical center
• Ways to contact the site’s sponsor (an e-mail address or phone number)
• An alert that lets you know you’re leaving the site to go to another one

Check for Reliability
Answer these questions to determine the credibility of a site’s information:

• What’s the site’s purpose? Is it intended to educate or sell something?
• Is the information factual or opinion?
• Is the information accurate? Verifiable?
• Is there an obvious bias? Pay close attention to where the site’s information comes from.

Good sources of health information include:

• “Dot govs” — government sites such as the National Institutes of Health
• “Dot edus” — University or medical school sites, such as Johns Hopkins University Medicine
• “Dot orgs” — not-for-profit groups whose focus is research and teaching the public, such as the American Cancer Society
• Hospital, health system and other health care facility sites, such as the Cleveland Clinic
• Medical and science journals, such as the Journal of the American Medical Association

Finally, check to see that the information is written by experts in the field or refers to medical studies, reports or articles. Be careful of sites that don’t say where the information comes from or that offer personal testimonies on a cure’s effectiveness.

By Barbara Floria, the editor of Vitality.

© Health Ink & Vitality. Information is the opinion of the sourced authors and organizations. Personal decisions regarding health, diet, and exercise should be made only after consultation with the reader's own medical advisers. This material may not be reproduced for redistribution without written permission from Health Ink & Vitality.