ACTIVITIES :: ICT for Health :: Quality Criteria
Trust in health websites
More and more people are searching the web for information on health matters, but it is getting increasingly difficult to know which sites can be trusted. To help resolve this problem, the European Union has developed a code of conduct for health-related websites to ensure users can better rely on their medical surfing.
There are now many hundreds of thousands of websites offering – or purporting to offer – information and advice on health questions. Some sites simply provide information, whilst others enable dialogue between users, and/or between users and the information provider. Used responsibly, such sites can help patients, and even reduce the burden on health professionals. On the other hand, taking the wrong decision – on the basis of information on a website – could lead to incorrect action, delaying necessary treatment, with serious consequences.
In 2000, European Union leaders called for a set of quality criteria to apply to health-related websites across the EU. Their aim was to build on the work already done by many organisations in Europe and elsewhere, to raise standards consistently throughout the EU.
The European Commission worked together with healthcare providers and medical professionals, alongside representatives of user groups, to develop an EU code of conduct, adopted in 2002. The code calls on all public health authorities, professional associations and private-sector website owners to apply the criteria to their sites, and promote them to their visitors. The code complements EU legislation in areas such as consumer and data protection.
The criteria cover the following issues:
- Honesty and transparency – it should be clear to users who the site is targeting (patients, health professionals, etc.), who is providing the information and with what aim, and who is funding it.
- Authority – all information should state the source, individual and/or institutional, and be dated.
- Privacy – a clear policy on privacy and data protection, fulfilling relevant EU legislation, must be defined.
- Updating – information should be checked and updated regularly, and latest revision dates should be clearly marked.
- Accountability – procedures for feedback/follow-up by users should be clear; links should only be made to trustworthy sites; and editorial policy should be made public.
- Accessibility – sites should be developed to be as user-friendly as possible for all potential visitors.
The code has been developed in parallel with EU efforts to encourage greater use of internet channels to publish health-related information at national and regional levels. Using the web improves access to health information generally, and enables providers and users alike to benefit from the wide range of information available across Europe.
The EU’s Public Health Programme is supporting work in this area, and will develop a system of EU “seals of approval” for health-related websites.
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| Last update by the Editor (ehealth(AT)cec.eu.int): 24/01/2007 |