1. Know what you're looking for.  Do you want consumer information or do you want to see the professional literature?  A librarian can help you figure out the best source of information for your needs.
2. Go to a trusted source such as the National Library of Medicine or Healthfinder, a site created by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.   Links listed at these sites have already been evaluated by librarians and health professionals.
3. Know your domain names.  A site with a ".com" (commercial) address is usually trying to sell you something.  Look for ".gov" (government), ".edu" (higher education), or ".org" (non-profit organization) sites for information that is less biased than that in commercial sites.  However, as the assignment of domain names becomes more lenient, this test will become less reliable. 
4. Apply the "ARC" test.*  Evaluate the site and information with the following criteria:

   Authority/Accuracy - By whose authority is the information given?  Is the author qualified?   Are there references to studies or other literature supporting the views on the site?  Is the information accurate?  Check the information with other sources.   When in doubt, always consult a health professional.

   Reliability/Relevancy - Is the site reliable?   Your first clue is the domain name.  Then, find the source of the Web site to be sure it is trusted and unbiased.  Personal testimonials and sites that want to sell you something are not reliable sources.  Some companies make it difficult to find out who is putting out the information.  Often, these are drug companies trying to promote their own products.  The information MAY be reliable, but you are better off with an unbiased source.  Further, is the site relevant?  Does it meet your needs or the needs of your client?  Is it written at an appropriate reading level for the user? 

   Currency - Is the information current?   A good Web site will note the date that information was posted.  Medical information changes so quickly that you must be sure that your resource is up to date.

* The ARC Test was developed by Kathleen Lese, former Director of Information and Advocacy, Western Maryland AHEC.

The following sites provide further information on finding quality health sites and evaluating the information found there*:

Bringing Effective Skills and Technology Together:  Offers links to information on critical thinking, best practices, and evidence-based medicine to help seekers of health information assess electronic resources.

Criteria for Assessing the Quality of Health Information on the Internet:   From the Health Summit Working Group of Mitretek, a non-profit organization that provides a public benefit through the application of science and technology.

Diagnosing Websites:   This guide from the Medical Library Association provides tips to help decide is a Web site is a reliable source of health care information.  It also includes a list of recommended Web sites.   Web sites are evaluated based on the following criteria:  credibility, sponsorship/authorship, content, audience, currency, disclosure, purpose, links, design, interactivity, and disclaimers.

Draft Health Web Site Standards:  The URAC (also known as the American Accreditation Health Care Commission) recently released a draft of Health Web Site Standards for public review and comment.   These standards will eventually provide the foundation for a third-party accreditation program administered by URAC.

Tips for Health Consumers:   Finding Quality Health Information on the Internet:   This site is from the Internet Healthcare Coalition.

*  Thanks to Cecelia Durkin, AHIP, for her "Quick Guide to Evaluating Health Information Web Sites," from which some of these sites were identified.

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Consortium of Health Information Library Outreach (CHIL-Out)
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