Should you believe everything you read online? Do you believe every pamphlet placed on your windshield? Certainly not! Now that the Internet is one of the world's most widely used communications media, it has become even simpler to set up a website and publish any kind of information, which is then accessible to people around the globe. The problem is therefore no longer finding the information, but assessing the credibility of the source, as well as the relevance and accuracy of any document retrieved from the Net.

Credibility on the Web is a serious issue. For example, in the field of healthcare information supplied via the Internet, the line between advertising and editorial content is getting blurrier every day. Dr. C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General of the U.S. and now director of one of the largest healthcare information websites, concurs and states on his website that "the providers of healthcare information on Web sites have a profound responsibility to clearly delineate advertising from editorial, and to provide credible, unbiased information".

So how do you decide whether a health-related website provides credible information? Many websites provide no appropriate documentation that allow you to assess the value of the websites' content. Some things to look for are the author's credentials, date of last modification, references in the form of bibliographic notations or website links to the source data, and a funding and advertisement policy that states plainly how the website is funded. If you can't find any answers to these questions, don't waste your time!

Here are some websites that make the grade:

And don't forget that these same standards should also apply to traditional media such as books and pamphlets. As my high school history teacher Mr. Duthie always reminded us: "Consider the source"!