Patient's Guide to the Internet Essay

This can be as relatively minor as a night without sleep every few weeks or a continual struggle to sleep every night. Curing insomnia by just trying to Google a response to the problem only unleashes a flood of websites that offer all sorts of over-the-counter and prescription medications. The person wants to find relaxation techniques and also understand how they can overcome the insomnia on their own without having to take the trouble of going into a physician's clinic. In choosing which website to trust, using the evaluation criteria provided will be very useful. An example of a website that meets the criteria as defined is WebMD.com. Let's take a look at this website to see why. First, the website makes it clear they have an editorial policy, and their mission and purpose are to provide accurate, valid healthcare information to its website visitors. The WebMD Medical Review Board also regularly evaluates all content, which is precisely what is needed to make sure the information is accurate and valid.Second, WebMD specifically states their advertising policy and goes a step further to offer their financial condition as well. Third, WebMD is accredited by both the American HealthCare Accreditation Association and also TRUSTe. Both of these accreditations ensure patient privacy (Lorence, Abraham, 2008). Now also consider the website well.com's coverage of insomnia. First, this website is run by Salon Media Group, a magazine company. Second, there is no accreditation from privacy companies, and no review board for medical accuracy of information. This is a website aimed purely at advertising revenue and therefore one to be avoided for healthcare advice.

References

Lorence, D., & Abraham, J. (2008). When medicine tails: evaluating website quality tor interpretation of uncertain diagnoses. International Journal of Healthcare Technology & Management, 9(1), 19.

Stvilia, B., Mon, L., & Yi, Y. (2009). A model for online consumer health information quality. Journal of the….....