Assessing and accessing health information on the internet

The internet is becoming an important source of health information. The quality of the information however, varies greatly. In this article, the authors enumerate the general principles to be followed for assessing the quality of health information and discuss a selection of health websites for prescribers and consumers. The internet is increasingly becoming an important source of health information for both healthcare professionals and laypersons. The concerns raised about internet health information are, the sheer amount of information available, information which is misleading, the quality of information and as to which websites are trustworthy [1]. Even in developing countries like Nepal, people have increased access to the internet and to internet sources of drug and health information. The internet is widely used to promote herbal remedies, dietary supplements and alternative medicines and therapies. Most countries do not have laws and regulations to regulate content on the internet. In this situation, it is left to the individual user to form his/her opinion regarding the quality of information presented in websites. In this article, the authors enumerate the general principles to be followed while assessing the quality of internet health information and suggest a selection of health websites for prescribers and consumers.