Mennonite's Susan Kossman on Web healthcare info

Information at your fingertips… where and when you need it. The Internet gives us a window to a world of information, and more people look for health information online.  A recent article highlighted these problems, finding five percent of more than 300 Web pages about breast cancer had inaccurate information.  So how can a person tell if the information they find online about diseases, medications and healthcare tips is accurate.  Mennonite College of Nursing’s Susan Kossman offers some tips.

How can you become an informed consumer of health information online?

First, be skeptical. Don’t take the information on Web pages you find through a Google or other search engine as undisputed fact.  Check for the follwoing:

• Who is the author or sponsor of the webpage? If it is a government site (the web address ends with .gov), or sponsored by a healthcare organization (ends with .org) or university (ends with .edu), it is more likely to have accurate information.  If it is a commercial site (ends with .com), the information may not be accurate; these sites are often used for selling products.  Excellent sources of health information are the National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ ) and the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov ).
• Look for the HON seal:  HON is “Health on the Net” and this seal means the Web site has passed the HON Code of Conduct for health Web pages
•  Pull information from several sources and compare: Look for inconsistencies and information that is confirmed on several sites.
• Be aware that a disease may have several variations: For instance there are many types of hepatitis and many types of diabetes, each with different causes and treatments.

Second, collaborate with your healthcare provider. Use the information you find online to become informed so you have a better understanding of what is going on and can ask better questions. Remember, the information you find online is general. Your healthcare provider knows about your personal health and needs; he or she can help you decide if certain treatments or medications are a good choice for you.

So surf the Net, but take what you find out there with a grain of salt (unless you’re on a low sodium diet!).

Reporters may contact Kossman for interviews at (309) 438-2553 or at skossm@ilstu.edu