Finding Credible Information
Are you searching for reliable health information that is not tainted by bias or invalid, unproven or statistically insignificant facts or data?
If so, Joint Health Command can steer you in the right direction, but before that a REMINDER that the primary source for personal health information relating to you as a patient should be your own Primary Health Care Practitioner, whether that be your Medical Officer, your Nursing Officer or your Senior Medic.
The first on-line option to you is to visit the Joint Health Command's Health-e-Check-Up (new DRN URL to be inserted here) site on the DRN and search through the A-Z listings for the condition you seek.
Secondly, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing maintains a site called Health-Insite www.healthinsite.gov.au . At this site you can find a wide range of up-to-date and quality assessed information on important health topics such as diabetes, cancer, mental health and asthma
Lastly, there is the HON web search engine. Health On the Net Foundation (HON) www.hon.ch is a not-for-profit organization founded under the auspices of the Geneva Ministry of Health. HON Foundation maintains a code of conduct for medical and health Web sites to address reliability and usefulness of medical information on the Internet. HONCode is not designed to rate the veracity of the information provided by a Web site. Rather, the code only states that the site holds to the standards, so that readers can know the source and purpose of the medical information presented. The HONcode is voluntary, which means that webmasters and information providers can apply for HONcode certification. Following this, the website is reviewed by a specialized team of health and legal professionals. The HONcode certification (see Logo) is a dynamic state and is extended every year according to site compliance. The aforementioned Health-Insite has HON certification.
 The HON Code Logo to look out for
Health On the Net - Principles for Website accreditation
1. Authoritative
Indicate the qualifications of the authors
2. Complementarity
Information should support, not replace, the doctor-patient relationship
3. Privacy
Respect the privacy and confidentiality of personal data submitted to the site by the visitor
4. Attribution
Cite the source(s) of published information, date and medical and health pages
5. Justifiability
Site must back up claims relating to benefits and performance
6. Transparency
Accessible presentation, accurate email contact
7. Financial disclosure
Identify funding sources
8. Advertising policy
Clearly distinguish advertising from editorial content
23 April, 2010
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