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Dear Medical Web Surfers,
My name is Dr. David Morris. I am an Internist in the Miami Lakes Area (Miami, Florida, USA). I maintain this site for the general medical community. I sponsor this site with no outside financial assistance (so there is no advertising allowed on this site). I would like to take this time to give you a few pointers to make you a better Healthcare web surfer.
Some books, articles, and online information services are reliable, but many are not. You need to distinguish what is helpful from what is harmful. It's important to be aware that many of the online health services were created by companies whose main goal is to make money. Don't be duped by something that serves as an advertisement, even if it doesn't look like the ads on television.
Next time you log on to your favorite healthcare Web site, look for the sponsor and the advertisers. Then consider whether it's designed to sell you something. If you'd like, you can ask you physician for some recommended sites.
I suggest you use the following five criteria to evaluate the sites you visit. These criteria have been developed by George D. Lungberg, MD, the former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association and health journalist WIlliam M. Silberg. Consider any online information unreliable unless you can answer these questions:
1. Who wrote what you're reading? The site should contain the name of a real person.
2. Where does that person work? A university? A Web Business? A product manufacturer? Can you easily find that information on the site?
3. Was the information created for the site? If not, is there clear attribution showing where the information originated?
4. Who owns the site, and who pays for it? The source of money and ownership should be clearly identified.
5. Can you tell when the article itself was posted, whether it has been updated, and when?
If you can't answer these questions, you may want to look elsewhere for health information. Even if you can answer these questions easily, there is no guarantee that the information is accurate and unbiased. If you have any questions about anything you find on the Net, you should discuss it with you primary care doctor.
Good-Luck and Happy Surfing,
David P. Morris, M.D.
Diplomate American Board of Internal Medicine
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