Updated: 27 Feb 2008
http://www.hon.ch/

	HON - Finding reliable health information online In: eHealth Europe Newsletter 13 Feb 2008 By: Joe Fernandez Interviewing Celia Boyer Lots of health care information is available on the internet, but it can be hard to know what is current and medically correct. Recent surveys have shown that up to 59% of Europeans use the internet as a resource for health and wellness-related information. Knowing which sites and what information to trust can be a minefield, but one Swiss-based website, the Health on the Net Foundation, has been offering a dedicated website, which aims to protect citizens from false or misleading health and ethical information for 12 years now. The "Health On the Net Foundation" (HON) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation, accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, set up by participants of the Use of the Internet and World-Wide Web for Telematics in Healthcare conference in 1995. Its aim was to create a centralised, legitimate way for people to find accurate health information.  Launched in 1996, the website has fast grown to become one of most respected not-for-profit portals to medical information on the internet, working closely with industry organisations. Most recently, it has launched a Code of Conduct accreditation scheme to help standardise the reliability of medical and health information available on the web. Last December, the French National Authority for Health chose the online health information accreditation body to be the official certifying body of all French health websites . HON executive director, Celia Boyer, told E-Health Europe: “The aim of our website is simple. We want to protect and guide citizens in their usage of the internet regarding healthcare. We are all aware of the nature of the web and the dangers inherent in this, and we wanted to find a way to try to ensure citizens are reading material which is accurate and helpful.” To gain accreditation with, and have their medical articles published on HON, websites must meet strict standards laid down by the European Union and the United Nations health boards. Boyer said: “We have a dedicated team here in Geneva which checks every health website which applies to work with us and we go through them thoroughly to ensure that an average patient would be able to make reasonable decisions about what health information they will trust, or what products or services they will use.  “Individuals need to know what standards a site employs in developing content. Health-related websites must make clear the sources which they have used and ensure that the information presented is appropriate, independent and timely. Health-related websites should also identify who is most likely to visit the site and ensure that the information presented is as comprehensible and as easily accessible as possible to all visitors including disabled persons.” The HON network is one of the few to have achieved UN Worldwide online Reliable Advices to Patients and Individuals (WRAPIN) status, and currently has 5700 accredited sites working with them from 72 countries. These can be searched for using HONselect, HON's search integrator for strictly medical and health queries. It combines five information types - MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms, authoritative scientific articles, healthcare news, websites and multimedia into the one service. Boyer said: “The HONcode enables the identification of sites of quality and confidence, thus contributing towards the general improvement of trustworthy information and websites, as well as helping the user in his search for health information.” One of HON's latest developments has been the introduction of a toolbar which tells consumers if a site is accredited or not. The HON Code logo will illuminate if the site is one of its members with the word accredited displayed in large bright font. The logo remains dimmed out if the site is not a member body.  Key to its success, HON has received recognition from across the globe, which Boyer is particularly proud of. In May 2004, HON won the eEurope Award for eHealth presented by the European Union and the EU Commission. Judges said it was given the award for its services for the citizen including its accreditation system for websites and a search engine/directory of trustworthy information sources. Boyer said: “We were honoured to receive this award, especially as we had such stiff competition from over 100 submissions for the award. The award emphasises the recognition from bodies across the world for our online information quality, addressing the fundamental issue of standards for the presentation of health information.” Boyer is justifiably proud of HON's success. The website is now averaging 27,000 hits a day and works closely with Google.com to ensure that member sites show up under the Refine results category when key medical terms are searched for. Offering results in English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese, the website continues to expand its global reach and Boyer says there is still more to come. “Our mission is to guide the growing community of healthcare consumers and providers on the world wide web to sound, reliable medical information and expertise. In this way, HON seeks to contribute to better, more accessible and cost-effective health care. “Quality assessment has been our concern since the beginning. We recognise the need for systematic and stringent peer review. We have led international efforts to improve the quality of medical information on the Internet, notably through the HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) for healthcare site developers and this will remain a HON priority, which our dedicated team and councils will continue to work on across the globe.”
	Health On the Net Foundation Newsletter January 2008 In this issue... New Year Message 2008 HON supported conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Year Message 2008 We wish all our Information providers and their loved ones a very Happy and Prosperous New Year filled with health and happiness. We thank you all for your continuing support and confidence in all our endeavors and look forward to continuing our work together towards the common goal of trustworthy online information. The Health On the Net Team. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HON supported conference Best practices for improved delivery and outcomes in Europe March 10-12, 2008 in Berlin, Germany Over 600 Industry and government leaders reconvene to share best practices for improved delivery and outcomes in Europe Organised under the high patronage of the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry of Health and presented for the 4th consecutive year, the World Health Care Congress Europe is the only major international forum where over 600 health leaders share best practices and successful initiatives for improved delivery and outcomes in Europe. Participating thought leaders include health ministers, leading government officials, hospital directors, IT innovators, decision makers from public and private insurance funds, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and heath care industry suppliers. http://www.worldcongress.com/events/HR08015/ Come and join us by keeping this date free in your agenda. Please register early to avoid disappointment. HON members from Hospital/Government/NGO/Academic organisations will save 25%. Use promo code BRA989 . More information: http://www.hon.ch/Conf/WHCC/HR08015-HON-12-12-07.htm
	Collaboration of the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) with the French National Authority for Health (HAS) HON: the official accrediting body for all French health websites . Since its beginning 12 years ago, the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) has come to be a widely recognized name, associated with quality online health information. Not only has HON grown in terms of implementation of its services, but also has increased its liaisons worldwide to include the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN), where it has consultative status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). Today, we are proud to announce our collaboration with the French National Authority for Health (Haute Autorité de Santé - HAS), which chose HON to be the official certifying body of all French health websites. In view of its pioneering work and long expertise, the HON Foundation has been chosen by the HAS to implement the certification of French health websites according to the French bill passed on the 13 August 2004. This certification will be performed by HON through the implementation of the HONcode (a set of eight quality criteria established by HON). "Our certification (provided free of charge) is concise while giving guidance towards conformity and is unique in its kind" said HON Executive Director Celia Boyer. She added "The HONcode enables the identification of sites of quality and confidence, thus contributing towards the general improvement of trustworthy information and Web sites, as well as helping the user in his search for health information." France is the first government to have taken the initiative of standardizing the quality of the available online health information which will benefit the French public through the provision of a pool of trustworthy health information. "The collaboration between HON and HAS reinforces the need for reliable and trustworthy health information and thus, the necessity for quality standardizing bodies like the HON foundation" stated HON President, Professor Antoine Geissbühler. More information: The Haute Autorité de santé (HAS ) - or French National Authority for Health - was set up by the French government in August 2004 in order to bring together under a single roof, a number of activities designed to improve the quality of patient care and to guarantee equity within the healthcare system. HAS activities are diverse. They range from assessment of drugs, medical devices, and procedures to publication of guidelines to accreditation of healthcare organisations and certification of doctors.

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