Getting the Most Out of Online Resources

With internet access readily available to most people, and with the constant advances in medical and other technology, the amount on information available online related to health, wellness, medical conditions and treatments can be very overwhelming.

Online health information can be extremely helpful, can help you make good, educated decisions, and can often answer quick and common health related questions.

Proceed with caution, however, and make sure you have a good sense of how to filter information found online to meet your specific needs, and how to distinguish credible medical information from advertising and myths.

According to “familydoctor.org” a site published by the American Academy of Family Physicians there are three important questions to ask about information you find online:

1.     Where did the information come from?
Any site that provides health related information should be upfront about the source of the information. Look around and see if you can find answers to these questions.
  • Who wrote the information? Many sites use the same information so if the site you are on is not the source of the information – the source should be cited.
  • If a health care professional didn’t write the information was it reviewed by one?
  • If the site contains statistics do they come from a reliable source?
  • Does the information appear to be opinion rather than fact? If so is it the opinion of a qualified person?

2.     How current is the information? 
Health information changes constantly as researchers continue to learn new things about illnesses and their treatments. You should know if the site you are looking at reflects the most current information available. Most sites will publish the date on which the information was most recently updated, if not look for the copyright date which will tell you when the information was first created. If the information has not been updated in the last year, try looking for more current information.

3.     Who is responsible for the website?
Before you seriously consider any information you find online, find out who is responsible for the information. The first place to look is the home page which should indicate who publishes the site. There may also be an “about this site” link which should take you to information about who or what organization is responsible for the site and the information it contains. There are usually three types of health related websites: 

a. Web sites published by an organization.
Sites published by the US government (.gov), a non-profit organization (.org) or a college or university (.edu) may be the most reliable sources of information because they are usually not supported by for-profit entities such as drug or insurance companies. Even with these sites you should still find out where the information comes from.

b. Commercial sites (.com).
These sites may represent a specific company or published by a company that uses the web to sell services. These sites can offer useful and accurate information but you should just be aware that the company could have something to gain from promoting certain information. It’s a good idea to double check this information against other sources.

c. Web sites published by an individual.
Web sites published by individuals can be most helpful when they provide support and first hand advice about coping with certain conditions and treatments. You may find very good information here but remember that these sites are only reflections of one person’s experience and may also contain myths or rumors. What works for one person might not work for you.

The most important thing to remember is that while information found on the internet can be extremely helpful, can help you put your health related questions or concerns in a larger context, and can inform your approach to your medical care, it should never substitute for the personalized care of a medical professional.