How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet

Finding health information on the Internet is quick and easy, but not all of it is reliable or safe. The US Food Drug and Administration provides guidelines to help you determine whether the health information you find on the Internet or receive by e-mail from a website is likely to be reliable.

The website lists a series of questions and answers that help you assess the validity of a website by looking at the purpose, original source of information, the website owners, how current, and understanding how information is collected on visitors.

Need a quick reference guide? The FDA also provides a checklist for assessing a website.

• Can you easily see who sponsors the Web site?
• Is the sponsor a government agency, a medical school, or a reliable health-related organization, or is it related to one of these?
• Is there contact information?
• Can you tell when the information was written?
• Is your privacy protected?
• Does the Web site make claims that seem too good to be true? Are quick, miraculous cures promised?

Links to FDA guidelines are provided including:

• FDA's "Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online"
• "Buying Prescription Medicines Online: A Consumer Safety Guide" - guidance to consumers shopping for health care products online
• "Tips for the Savvy Supplement User" - advice about how to evaluate claims about dietary supplements and what to look for in Web sites selling them

Additional Resources:

• Healthfinder a DHHS site that is a gateway to consumer information
• MEDLINEplus a consumer-oriented Website established by the National Library of Medicine
• ClinicalTrials.gov a site created by the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration to provide people with current information about clinical research studies and trials
• How to Find Medical Information a guide by the National Institutes of Health.