MEDLINE <1966 to October Week 1 2001

Citation 1.

Unique Identifier

21430719

PubMed Identifier

11546703

Authors

Rigby M. Forsstrom J. Roberts R. Wyatt J.

Institution

Centre for Health Planning and Management, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG. m.j.rigby@keele.ac.uk

Title

Verifying quality and safety in health informatics services.

Source

BMJ. 323(7312):552-6, 2001 Sep 8.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Confidentiality
Human
Internet
Medical Informatics
*Quality Assurance, Health Care
Risk Assessment
Safety
Software
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Telemedicine

Citation 2.

Unique Identifier

21386932

PubMed Identifier

11494815

Authors

Simmons JC.

Title

Creating portals to quality: how the Internet is changing health care delivery to consumers.

Source

Quality Letter for Healthcare Leaders. 13(7):2-10, 1, 2001 Jul.

MeSH Subject Headings

Consumer Participation
Diffusion of Innovation
Health Care Sector
Health Promotion
Human
Information Services
Internet
Organizational Objectives
Planning Techniques
*Quality of Health Care
Self Care
United States

Abstract

The number of Americans visiting health care sites on the Internet has steadily increased every year. However, while many say the sites are helpful, more are looking to these sites to change from static to interactive--to provide information tailored to their needs, to enhance self-care, to encourage better provider communication, and to aid in lifestyle management. Some health care organizations are beginning to provide new services that promise to give e-health a new look.

Citation 3.

Unique Identifier

21386933

PubMed Identifier

11494813

Authors

Anonymous.

Title

Information on the Internet found to be usually accurate but also incomplete.

Source

Quality Letter for Healthcare Leaders. 13(7):11-2, 1, 2001 Jul.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Consumer Satisfaction
Educational Status
Health Care Sector
Human
Information Services
Information Storage and Retrieval
Internet
Quality Control
United States

Abstract

As hospitals, health systems, and health plans look toward strengthening their Web sites, they may want to keep in mind findings from a recent study that notes that while much of the information that consumers find on the Internet is accurate, many users find it incomplete and difficult to understand.

Citation 4.

Unique Identifier

21369763

PubMed Identifier

11476813

Authors

Groot D. Riet G. Khan KS. Misso K.

Institution

Maastricht University, Alexander Battalaan 31, 6221 CA, Maastricht, The Netherlands. dorstignijlpaard@hotmail.com

Title

Comparison of search strategies and quality of medical information of the Internet: a study relating to ankle sprain.

Source

Injury. 32(6):473-6, 2001 Jul.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Ankle Injuries
Comparative Study
Human
Information Storage and Retrieval
Internet
Medical Staff, Hospital
Orthopedics
Sprains and Strains

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the quality of web sites on ankle sprain diagnosis and treatment and to assess the impact of Internet search expertise on quality of retrieved information. METHOD: two internet search strategies were conducted - one developed by an experienced information officer (expert's search) and the other based on the search terms used by orthopaedic medical staff (doctors' search). RESULTS: the expert's search revealed 32 web sites, of which nine were relevant, whereas the doctors' search revealed 61 web sites of which 27 were relevant. Of the relevant web sites in the expert's search, one complied with all quality criteria, whereas none of the web sites in the doctors' search complied with all criteria (11 vs. 0%, P=0.25). The web sites identified by expert's search had higher credibility (median scores 70 vs. 44, P=0.01) and accuracy of content (median scores 50 vs. 35, P=0.24). CONCLUSION: the quality of medical information on the internet is generally poor and information experts can capture higher quality web sites compared with doctors.

Citation 5.

Unique Identifier

21268684

PubMed Identifier

11374297

Authors

Oravec JA.

Institution

College of Business and Economics, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 800 W. Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190, USA. oravecj@uwwvax.uww.edu

Title

On the "proper use" of the Internet: self-help medical information and on-line health care. [Review] [122 refs]

Source

Journal of Health & Social Policy. 14(1):37-60, 2001.

MeSH Subject Headings

Consumer Participation
*Delivery of Health Care / mt [Methods]
Delivery of Health Care / td [Trends]
Family Characteristics
*Health Education / mt [Methods]
Health Education / td [Trends]
Human
Information Services / st [Standards]
*Information Services / ut [Utilization]
Internet / st [Standards]
*Internet / ut [Utilization]
Marketing of Health Services / mt [Methods]
Piperazines / tu [Therapeutic Use]
Prescriptions, Drug
Public Health
Quality Control
Self-Help Groups
United States

Abstract

Deliveries of medical information and assistance on the Internet are becoming increasingly popular, despite growing concern by some affected professional groups. "Self-help" efforts are abounding as individuals band together to support each other socially as well as gain political clout. The advent of widespread on-line health care is having a growing cultural impact, affecting the image of the practitioner-patient relationship and opening up the possibility of new roles for social workers and educators in the provision of health services. Many consumers are bringing new strategies into their acquisition of health information and care, ones developed in Internet shopping and other on-line interactions. In turn, many in the healing and helping professions are attempting to establish norms for the "proper use" of the Internet for individuals seeking health-related assistance. The medical and health care communities should establish approaches that empower consumers to use the Internet as part of a total health care strategy, rather than simply warn them about Internet hazards. The statuses of social workers, health educators, and related health professionals may be bolstered as they develop ways to empower and support consumers' Internet utilization. [References: 122]

Registry Numbers

0 (Piperazines). 139755-83-2 (sildenafil).

Citation 6.

Unique Identifier

21197646

PubMed Identifier

11302091

Authors

Resnik DB.

Institution

Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

Title

Patient access to medical information in the computer age: ethical concerns and issues.

Source

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. 10(2):147-54; discussion 154-6, 2001 Spring.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Clinical Competence
Conflict (Psychology)
Decision Making
Ethics, Medical
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Information Services / sd [Supply & Distribution]
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Patient Participation
*Physician's Role
*Physician-Patient Relations
Professional Autonomy
Quality Control
Referral and Consultation

Citation 7.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

21300968

PubMed Identifier

11409403

Authors

Darmoni SJ. Haugh MC. Lukacs B. Boissel JP.

Title

Quality of health information about depression on internet. Level of evidence should be gold standard.

Source

BMJ. 322(7298):1367, 2001 Jun 2.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Evidence-Based Medicine
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]

Citation 8.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

21300967

PubMed Identifier

11409402

Authors

Tomlin A. Dearness KL. Geddes J.

Title

Quality of health information about depression on internet. Study's shortcomings may have affected findings.

Source

BMJ. 322(7298):1366-7, 2001 Jun 2.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Depression / th [Therapy]
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]

Citation 9.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

21262346

PubMed Identifier

11368735

Authors

Berland GK. Elliott MN. Morales LS. Algazy JI. Kravitz RL. Broder MS. Kanouse DE. Munoz JA. Puyol JA. Lara M. Watkins KE. Yang H. McGlynn EA.

Institution

RAND Health, Santa Monica, CA, USA. berland@rand.org

Title

Health information on the Internet: accessibility, quality, and readability in English and Spanish.

Source

JAMA. 285(20):2612-21, 2001 May 23-30.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Consumer Advocacy
Cross-Sectional Studies
Efficiency
*Health Education / st [Standards]
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet
*Language
*Medical Informatics
Reproducibility of Results
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Abstract

CONTEXT: Despite the substantial amount of health-related information available on the Internet, little is known about the accessibility, quality, and reading grade level of that health information. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate health information on breast cancer, depression, obesity, and childhood asthma available through English- and Spanish-language search engines and Web sites. DESIGN AND SETTING: Three unique studies were performed from July 2000 through December 2000. Accessibility of 14 search engines was assessed using a structured search experiment. Quality of 25 health Web sites and content provided by 1 search engine was evaluated by 34 physicians using structured implicit review (interrater reliability 0.90). The reading grade level of text selected for structured implicit review was established using the Fry Readability Graph method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: For the accessibility study, proportion of links leading to relevant content; for quality, coverage and accuracy of key clinical elements; and grade level reading formulas. RESULTS: Less than one quarter of the search engine's first pages of links led to relevant content (20% of English and 12% of Spanish). On average, 45% of the clinical elements on English- and 22% on Spanish-language Web sites were more than minimally covered and completely accurate and 24% of the clinical elements on English- and 53% on Spanish-language Web sites were not covered at all. All English and 86% of Spanish Web sites required high school level or greater reading ability. CONCLUSION: Accessing health information using search engines and simple search terms is not efficient. Coverage of key information on English- and Spanish-language Web sites is poor and inconsistent, although the accuracy of the information provided is generally good. High reading levels are required to comprehend Web-based health information.

Citation 10.

Unique Identifier

99382523

PubMed Identifier

10453151

Authors

McKinley J. Cattermole H. Oliver CW.

Institution

Edinburgh Orthopaedic Trauma Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, U.K.

Title

The quality of surgical information on the Internet. [retraction in Eremin OE. J R Coll Surg Edinb 1999 Dec;44(6):403].

Source

Journal of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. 44(4):265-8, 1999 Aug.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Abstracting and Indexing
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Assurance, Health Care
*Surgical Procedures, Operative

Abstract

The quality of surgical information on the Internet is variable. Content variation limits the use of the Internet as a reliable and safe information source both for both health professionals and patients. Medical information is a particularly sensitive area. Incorrect or misleading information may lead to potentially dangerous health behaviour, patients reading information intended for health professionals may misunderstand information or may get wrong expectations regarding treatment options.

Citation 11.

Unique Identifier

20539433

PubMed Identifier

11089701

Authors

Seltzer SE. Kelly P. Deibel GM. Ros P.

Institution

Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Title

Radiology quality and performance metrics on the Web: a management information and communications tool.

Source

Academic Radiology. 7(11):981-5, 2000 Nov.

MeSH Subject Headings

Human
*Internet
*Quality Assurance, Health Care
*Radiology Department, Hospital / og [Organization & Administration]
*Radiology Information Systems

Abstract

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using the World Wide Web to communicate critical radiology quality and performance metrics to departmental and hospital management staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on report turnaround, appointment access, patient and physician satisfaction, and financial performance were harvested from a variety of sources. These were then standardized and condensed so they could be displayed electronically in a concise, information-dense fashion. RESULTS: The final product was a series of graphic materials on a single Web site. The most informative was a summary "spiderweb chart" that indicated the percentage of specified performance goals achieved for 12 operational parameters. These graphic materials were distributed to management staff monthly by means of e-mail. CONCLUSION: The use of simple Web-based technology facilitates the collection of key departmental performance data and the dissemination of these data to a wide audience.

Citation 12.

Unique Identifier

20556719

PubMed Identifier

11104481

Authors

Baur C. Deering MJ.

Institution

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Washington, DC, USA.

Title

Proposed frameworks to improve the quality of health web sites: review.

Source

Medgenmed [Computer File]: Medscape General Medicine. :E35, 2000 Sep 26.

MeSH Subject Headings

American Medical Association
*Guidelines
Human
Internet / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Medical Informatics / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Quality Control
United States

Citation 13.

Unique Identifier

21114641

PubMed Identifier

11177737

Authors

Markman M.

Title

Cancer and the Internet: the good, the bad, and the very ugly.

Source

Current Oncology Reports. 3(2):77-8, 2001 Mar.

MeSH Subject Headings

Human
Information Services
*Internet
Neoplasms / px [Psychology]
*Neoplasms / th [Therapy]
*Patient Education
Quality Control

Citation 14.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

21132372

PubMed Identifier

11236453

Authors

American Public Health Association.

Title

Criteria for assessing the quality of health information on the Internet.

Source

American Journal of Public Health. 91(3):513-4, 2001 Mar.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Health Education / st [Standards]
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet

Citation 15.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20004096

PubMed Identifier

10535438

Authors

Hodge JG Jr. Gostin LO. Jacobson PD.

Institution

Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC 20013-6305, USA. hodgej@erols.com

Title

Legal issues concerning electronic health information: privacy, quality, and liability. [see comments].

Comments

Comment in: JAMA. 2000 Mar 22-29;283(12):1564-5

Source

JAMA. 282(15):1466-71, 1999 Oct 20.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Computer Communication Networks / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
Computer Security / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
Confidentiality / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
*Information Systems / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
*Information Systems / st [Standards]
Liability, Legal
*Patient Advocacy / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
*Privacy / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
Quality Assurance, Health Care
Quality Control
Reproducibility of Results
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Telemedicine / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
Telemedicine / st [Standards]
United States

Abstract

Personally identifiable health information about individuals and general medical information is increasingly available in electronic form in health databases and through online networks. The proliferation of electronic data within the modern health information infrastructure presents significant benefits for medical providers and patients, including enhanced patient autonomy, improved clinical treatment, advances in health research and public health surveillance, and modern security techniques. However, it also presents new legal challenges in 3 interconnected areas: privacy of identifiable health information, reliability and quality of health data, and tortbased liability. Protecting health information privacy (by giving individuals control over health data without severely restricting warranted communal uses) directly improves the quality and reliability of health data (by encouraging individual uses of health services and communal uses of data), which diminishes tort-based liabilities (by reducing instances of medical malpractice or privacy invasions through improvements in the delivery of health care services resulting in part from better quality and reliability of clinical and research data). Following an analysis of the interconnectivity of these 3 areas and discussing existing and proposed health information privacy laws, recommendations for legal reform concerning health information privacy are presented. These include (1) recognizing identifiable health information as highly sensitive, (2) providing privacy safeguards based on fair information practices, (3) empowering patients with information and rights to consent to disclosure (4) limiting disclosures of health data absent consent, (5) incorporating industry-wide security protections, (6) establishing a national data protection authority, and (7) providing a national minimal level of privacy protections.

Citation 16.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

21105490

PubMed Identifier

11176924

Authors

Terry N.

Title

MSJAMA: Access vs quality assurance: the e-health conundrum.

Source

JAMA. 285(6):807, 2001 Feb 14.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Ethics
Health Care Sector / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
Health Care Sector / st [Standards]
*Health Care Sector
Internet / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
Internet / st [Standards]
*Internet
Quality Assurance, Health Care / lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]
Quality Assurance, Health Care / st [Standards]
*Quality Assurance, Health Care

Citation 17.

Unique Identifier

21027353

PubMed Identifier

11079879

Authors

Eysenbach G. Yihune G. Lampe K. Cross P. Brickley D.

Institution

Dept. of Clinical Social Medicine, Unit for Cybermedicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany. ey@yi.com

Title

MedCERTAIN: quality management, certification and rating of health information on the Net.

Source

Proceedings / AMIA Annual Symposium. :230-4, 2000.

MeSH Subject Headings

Databases / st [Standards]
*Health
Health Education
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Abstract

MedCERTAIN (MedPICS Certification and Rating of Trustworthy Health Information on the Net, TARGET="_blank"http://www.medcertain.org/) is a recently launched international project funded under the European Union's (EU) "Action Plan for safer use of the Internet. It provides a technical infrastructure and a conceptual basis for an international system of "quality seals", ratings and self-labelling of Internet health information, with the final aim to establish a "trustmark" for networked health information. Digital "quality seals" are evaluative metadata (using standards such as PICS = Platform for Internet Content Selection, now being replaced by RDF/XML) assigned by trusted third-party raters. The project also enables and encourages self-labelling with descriptive meta-information by web authors. Together these measures will help consumers as well as professionals to identify high-quality information on the Internet. MedCERTAIN establishes a fully functional demonstrator for a self- and third-party rating system enabling consumers and professionals to filter harmful health information and to positively identify and select high quality information. We aim to provide a system which allows citizens to place greater trust in networked information, exemplified in the domain of health information, whilst also making a significant contribution for similar projects with different target domains. The project will demonstrate how PICS-based content rating and filtering technologies can automate and exploit value-adding resource description services. It further proposes standards for interoperability of rating services.

Citation 18.

Unique Identifier

21081053

PubMed Identifier

11212434

Authors

Nahas R. Evans MF.

Institution

Family Practice Unit, University of Toronto, Ontario.

Title

Good-quality medical advice on the Internet.

Source

Canadian Family Physician. 47:56-7, 2001 Jan.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Child
Cough / th [Therapy]
Delivery of Health Care / st [Standards]
Family Practice
Human
Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Patient Education
Quality Control

Citation 19.

Unique Identifier

21077598

PubMed Identifier

11209204

Authors

Briggs B.

Title

Slicing through Internet data.

Source

Health Data Management. 9(1):26, 28, 30, 2001 Jan.

MeSH Subject Headings

Cost Control
Human
*Internet
*Medical Records Systems, Computerized
Organizational Case Studies
Quality Assurance, Health Care
Thoracic Surgery / ec [Economics]
*Thoracic Surgery / og [Organization & Administration]
Thoracic Surgery / st [Standards]
Thoracic Surgical Procedures
United States

Citation 20.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

21021133

PubMed Identifier

11140861

Authors

McMahon MJ.

Title

A guest editorial: the Internet: caveant lectur et viewer--let the reader and viewer beware.

Source

Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey. 56(1):1-2, 2001 Jan.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

Human
*Internet
Obstetrics
*Patient Education
Peer Review
Quality Control

Citation 21.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20568134

PubMed Identifier

11118181

Authors

Griffiths KM. Christensen H.

Institution

Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia. kathy.griffiths@anu.edu.au

Title

Quality of web based information on treatment of depression: cross sectional survey.

Source

BMJ. 321(7275):1511-5, 2000 Dec 16.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Cross-Sectional Studies
*Databases, Factual / st [Standards]
*Depressive Disorder / th [Therapy]
Health Education / st [Standards]
Human
*Internet / st [Standards]
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate quality of web based information on treatment of depression, to identify potential indicators of content quality, and to establish if accountability criteria are indicators of quality. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. DATA SOURCES: 21 frequently accessed websites about depression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (i) Site characteristics; (ii) quality of content-concordance with evidence based depression guidelines (guideline score), appropriateness of other relevant site information (issues score), and subjective rating of site quality (global score); and (iii) accountability-conformity with core accountability standards (Silberg score) and quality of evidence cited in support of conclusions (level of evidence score). RESULTS: Although the sites contained useful information, their overall quality was poor: the mean guideline, issues, and global scores were only 4.7 (range 0-13) out of 43, 9.8 (6-14) out of 17, and 3 (0.5-7. 5) out of 10 respectively. Sites typically did not cite scientific evidence in support of their conclusions. The guideline score correlated with the two other quality of content measures, but none of the content measures correlated with the Silberg accountability score. Content quality was superior for sites owned by organisations and sites with an editorial board. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for better evidence based information about depression on the web, and a need to reconsider the role of accountability criteria as indicators of site quality and to develop simple valid indicators of quality. Ownership by an organisation and the involvement of a professional editorial board may be useful indicators. The study methodology may be useful for exploring these issues in other health related subjects.

Citation 22.

Unique Identifier

21035848

PubMed Identifier

11187579

Authors

Bazavan M. Dimitriu R.

Institution

National Centre for Health Statistics, Bucharest, Romania.

Title

Quality assurance issues concerning Healthcare Information Systems Project development.

Source

Studies in Health Technology & Informatics. 77:383-7, 2000.

MeSH Subject Headings

Human
*Information Systems / og [Organization & Administration]
*Quality Assurance, Health Care
Romania

Abstract

The quality of the Healthcare Information System (HIS) product refers three major aspects: technical, use and organisational quality. The product quality is the result of the development process and from this perspective it must be considered from the early stages including terms of reference definition and procurement of goods and services. The issues investigated in this paper are concerning the possibilities of extending the view upon HIS projects quality by integrating the control instruments in an analytical frame covering both product and process aspects.

Citation 23.

Unique Identifier

21035830

PubMed Identifier

11187557

Authors

Adelhard K.

Institution

Inst. of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit&#x00E4;t, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 M&#x00FC;nchen, Germany.

Title

Quality assurance of medical information on the Internet.

Source

Studies in Health Technology & Informatics. 77:284-7, 2000.

MeSH Subject Headings

Germany
Human
*Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet
MEDLINE
*Quality Assurance, Health Care

Abstract

Physicians and Laymen use the Internet to answer health related questions. The quality of information is very diverse between the various web sites. Quality assurance is lacking. However, there are several means to rate the quality of information on the internet. For the time being, these mechanisms show some evidence on the provided information. Quality assurance, like peer review for scientific papers, has to be established to make the internet a trustworthy resource for physicians and patients.

Citation 24.

Unique Identifier

21035829

PubMed Identifier

11187556

Authors

Eysenbach G. Diepgen T. Lampe K. Brickley D.

Institution

MedCERTAIN Project Consortium, Dept. of Clinical Social Medicine, University Heidelberg, Bergheimerstr. 58, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. ey@yi.com

Title

EU-project medCERTAIN: Certification and Rating of Trustworthy and Assessed Health Information on the Net.

Source

Studies in Health Technology & Informatics. 77:279-83, 2000.

MeSH Subject Headings

Europe
*European Union
Human
*Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet
*Quality Assurance, Health Care

Abstract

Med-CERTAIN (MedPICS Certification and Rating of Trustworthy Health Information on the Net, http://www.medpics.org/medcertain/) is a recently launched project funded under the EU Action Plan for safer use of the Internet. It will provide the technical infrastructure for an international system of "quality seals" for Internet health information. Digital "quality seals" may be evaluative metainformation (using standards such as PICS = Platform for Internet Content Selection, now being replaced by RDF/XML) assigned by trusted third-party raters. The project will also enable and encourage self-labelling with descriptive metainformation by web authors. Together these measures will help consumers to identify high-quality information on the Internet. Med-CERTAIN will establish a fully functional demonstrator for a self- and third-party rating system enabling patients and consumers to filter harmful health information and to positively identify and select high quality information. We aim to provide a system allow European citizens to place greater trust in networked information, exemplified in the domain of health information, whilst also making a significant contribution for similar projects with different target domains. The project will demonstrate how PICS-based content rating and filtering technologies can automate and exploit value-adding resource description services. The proposed technology strategy combines a pragmatic use of simple existing technologies for data acquisition with a future-oriented standards policy intended to lead rather than follow the evolution of definitions for information-mediation services.

Citation 25.

Unique Identifier

21022849

PubMed Identifier

11142063

Authors

Aguillo I.

Institution

Centre of Scientific Information and Documentation, Madrid, Spain.

Title

A new generation of tools for search, recovery and quality evaluation of World Wide Web medical resources.

Source

Journal of Management in Medicine. 14(3-4):240-8, 2000.

MeSH Subject Headings

Documentation / st [Standards]
Evaluation Studies
*Information Storage and Retrieval / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Software / st [Standards]
User-Computer Interface

Abstract

Although the Internet is already a valuable information resource in medicine, there are important challenges to be faced before physicians and general users will have extensive access to this information. As a result of a research effort to compile a health-related Internet directory, new tools and strategies have been developed to solve key problems derived from the explosive growth of medical information on the Net and the great concern over the quality of such critical information. The current Internet search engines lack some important capabilities. We suggest using second generation tools (client-side based) able to deal with large quantities of data and to increase the usability of the records recovered. We tested the capabilities of these programs to solve health-related information problems, recognising six groups according to the kind of topics addressed: Z39.50 clients, downloaders, multisearchers, tracing agents, indexers and mappers. The evaluation of the quality of health information available on the Internet could require a large amount of human effort. A possible solution may be to use quantitative indicators based on the hypertext visibility of the Web sites. The cybermetric measures are valid for quality evaluation if they are derived from indirect peer review by experts with Web pages citing the site. The hypertext links acting as citations need to be extracted from a controlled sample of quality super-sites.

Citation 26.

Unique Identifier

20367686

PubMed Identifier

10912558

Authors

Abbott VP.

Institution

Department of Public Health, North West Lancashire Health Authority, Wesham Park Hospital.

Title

Web page quality: can we measure it and what do we find? A report of exploratory findings.

Source

Journal of Public Health Medicine. 22(2):191-7, 2000 Jun.

MeSH Subject Headings

Authorship
Bias (Epidemiology)
Discriminant Analysis
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine / ae [Adverse Effects]
Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine / st [Standards]
*Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine
Sensitivity and Specificity

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to report exploratory findings from an attempt to quantify the quality of a sample of World Wide Web (WWW) pages relating to MMR vaccine that a typical user might locate. METHOD: Forty pages obtained from a search of the WWW using two search engines and the search expression 'mmr vaccine' were analysed using a standard proforma. The proforma looked at the information the pages contained in terms of three categories: content, authorship and aesthetics. The information from each category was then quantified into a summary statistic, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated using a 'gold standard' of quality derived from the published literature. Optimal cut-off points for each of the three sections were calculated that best discriminated 'good' from 'bad' pages. Pages were also assessed as to whether they were pro- or anti-vaccination. RESULTS: For this sample, the combined contents and authorship score, with a cut-off of five, was a good discriminator, having 88 per cent sensitivity and 92 per cent specificity. Aesthetics was not a good discriminator. In the sample, 32.5 per cent of pages were pro-vaccination; 42.5 per cent were anti-vaccination and 25 per cent were neutral. The relative risk of being of poor quality if anti-vaccination was 3.3 (95 per cent confidence interval 1.8, 6.1). CONCLUSION: The sample of Web pages did contain some quality information on MMR vaccine. It also contained a great deal of misleading, inaccurate data. The proforma, combined with a knowledge of the literature, may help to distinguish between the two.

Registry Numbers

0 (Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine).

Citation 27.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20476359

PubMed Identifier

11021843

Authors

Delamothe T.

Title

Quality of websites: kitemarking the west wind.

Source

BMJ. 321(7265):843-4, 2000 Oct 7.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Guidelines
Human
*Internet
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*User-Computer Interface

Citation 28.

Unique Identifier

20353302

PubMed Identifier

10893465

Authors

Jiang YL.

Institution

Center of Advanced Dental Education, Orthodontic Department, St. Louis, MO 63011, USA.

Title

Quality evaluation of orthodontic information on the World Wide Web.

Source

American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics. 118(1):4-9, 2000 Jul.

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Check holdings at New Brunswick, Newark

MeSH Subject Headings

Comparative Study
Evaluation Studies
*Information Storage and Retrieval / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Orthodontics / st [Standards]
*Publishing / st [Standards]
Quality Control

Abstract

The phenomenal growth of the Internet has occurred because of the creation of the World Wide Web. The Web stores a huge amount of all sorts of health care information. It poses unlimited opportunities for people to access information. However, there is no central control and no regulatory policy regarding publication on the Web. The purpose of this study is to develop and apply published standards to perform a quality evaluation of orthodontic Web sites. Three hundred Web documents were visited and evaluated. The results indicate a variance of orthodontic information. The more professionally oriented information met more definitive standard criteria; on the contrary, the information designed for the general public met fewer standards.

Citation 29.

Unique Identifier

20245918

PubMed Identifier

10781966

Authors

Latthe M. Latthe PM. Charlton R.

Title

Quality of information on emergency contraception on the Internet. [see comments].

Comments

Comment in: Br J Fam Plann. 2000 Jul;26(3):179

Source

British Journal of Family Planning. 26(1):39-43, 2000 Jan.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Contraceptives, Postcoital / st [Standards]
Emergencies
Evidence-Based Medicine
Health Education
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Patient Education
Publishing / st [Standards]

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of patient information about emergency contraception on the Internet. DESIGN: We performed an on-line search of the Internet and found relevant World Wide Web sites by combining the key phrases 'emergency contraception' and 'patient information' in two Web subject guides and two search engines. We defined quality as the extent to which the characteristics of a Web site satisfied its stated and implied objectives. Our assessment focused on credibility and content of each Web site. Credibility was assessed by source, currency and editorial review process and content of Web site was assessed by hierarchy and accuracy of evidence. RESULTS: Our search revealed 32 relevant Web sites, none of which complied with all of the criteria for quality of credibility and content. Twenty-eight Web sites displayed the source clearly, 17 Web sites showed currency, and none of the Web sites had an editorial review process. Only six of the 32 sites mentioned hierarchy of evidence. None of the Web sites depicted all the criteria for accuracy of contents. CONCLUSION: None of the Web sites provided complete information to patients about emergency contraception according to the quality criteria used in this study. As previous studies have shown, people need to be wary about the quality of information on the Internet.

Registry Numbers

0 (Contraceptives, Postcoital).

Citation 30.

Unique Identifier

20442856

PubMed Identifier

10986787

Authors

Hoffman-Goetz L. Clarke JN.

Institution

Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, Ontario. lhgoetz@healthy.uwaterloo.ca

Title

Quality of breast cancer sites on the World Wide Web.

Source

Canadian Journal of Public Health. Revue Canadienne de Sante Publique. 91(4):281-4, 2000 Jul-Aug.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Breast Neoplasms
Female
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Patient Education / mt [Methods]
Peer Review, Health Care
Quality Control
Social Responsibility
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Abstract

The Internet is a powerful tool for accessing information about complex health topics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate breast cancer Internet sites using published criteria about website structure. Two searches were undertaken (November 1998 and June 1999) using the Yahoo search engine, providing a sample of 136 unique addresses. The results showed 1) owner's credentials were identified in 31.6% of sites, 2) financial charges were stated in 10.3% of sites, 3) less than 14.0% identified site creation date, 4) 33.1% identified content posting update, 5) 30.1% identified information sources, and 6) just under 88% of sites provided e-mail interactivity. The results indicate variability in breast cancer Internet sites with respect to framework criteria of accountability. We suggest that websites that lack fundamental indicators (such as dating and sources) do not provide the user with fundamental information that could enable informed decision making about site quality.

Citation 31.

Unique Identifier

20445105

PubMed Identifier

11001636

Authors

Trussell J. Shochet T.

Title

Quality of information on the Internet. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: Br J Fam Plann. 2000 Jan;26(1):39-43

Source

British Journal of Family Planning. 26(3):179, 2000 Jul.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Contraceptives, Postcoital
Emergencies
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]

Registry Numbers

0 (Contraceptives, Postcoital).

Citation 32.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20323060

PubMed Identifier

10864552

Authors

Eysenbach G.

Institution

Unit for Cybermedicine, Department of Clinical Social Medicine, University of Heidelberg, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. ey@yi.com

Title

Consumer health informatics. [Review] [37 refs]

Source

BMJ. 320(7251):1713-6, 2000 Jun 24.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Consumer Participation
Decision Support Systems, Clinical
Ethics, Medical
Human
Internet
*Medical Informatics / mt [Methods]
Medical Informatics / td [Trends]
Medical Records Systems, Computerized
Quality Control
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Citation 33.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20338358

PubMed Identifier

10881449

Authors

Oermann MH. Wilson FL.

Institution

College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Title

Quality of care information for consumers on the Internet.

Source

Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 14(4):45-54, 2000 Jul.

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Check holdings at New Brunswick

MeSH Subject Headings

Human
*Information Services
*Internet
Patient Care Planning
*Patient Education
*Quality of Health Care
*Reading
United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of quality of care information for consumers available on the Internet. Ten Internet resources for consumers, found at three major Web sites, were analyzed for readability. The scores ranged from a low of 6th grade level for information in the document "Quick Checks for Quality: Choosing Quality Health Care" to a high of 12th grade level for "Helping You Choose a Quality Ambulatory Care Organization." The overall mean reading demands of four of the documents were higher than the 8th grade level recommended for the general public. Six of the documents were at this level or below, placing them at an appropriate reading level for most consumers to understand the information.

Citation 34.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20245153

PubMed Identifier

10781495

Authors

Ruskin K. Oysten J.

Title

Quality of medical information on the Internet. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: Anesth Analg. 1999 Aug;89(2):271-2, Comment on: Anesth Analg. 1999 Aug;89(2):520-5

Source

Anesthesia & Analgesia. 90(5):1246, 2000 May.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Anesthesiology / st [Standards]
Communication
Human
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Control

Citation 35.

Unique Identifier

20193050

PubMed Identifier

10730807

Authors

Tamm EP. Raval BK. Huynh PT.

Institution

Department of Radiology, University of Texas at Houston Medical School, 77030, USA.

Title

Evaluation of the quality of self-education mammography material available for patients on the Internet.

Source

Academic Radiology. 7(3):137-41, 2000 Mar.

MeSH Subject Headings

Evaluation Studies
Female
Human
*Internet
*Mammography
*Patient Education

Abstract

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The Internet offers many advantages for educating patients but has no standards for publication. This limitation could negatively affect patient care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of information on mammography that a patient could find on the Internet. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three search utilities were used to research the term "mammography." For each utility, the first 50 addresses for Web pages were evaluated (or all the addresses, if fewer than 50 were returned). Web sites selected contained information that could guide an asymptomatic woman in deciding whether to undergo screening mammography. These sites were then evaluated for whether they indicated their sponsorship, authorship, the currency of information, and references. Sites were also noted if they advised women older than 50 years to undergo screening mammography at intervals of longer than 1 year or otherwise severely diminished the role of mammography. RESULTS: Thirty-eight Web sites were identified. Ten indicated authorship, 29 indicated the currency of the information, and 27 provided references. All of the Web sites indicated sponsorship. Three sites recommended screening mammography at intervals of longer than 1 year for women 50 years of age or older. Two sites suggested that mammography is not substantially more sensitive than physical examination. CONCLUSION: Many Web sites do not meet the standards for disseminating information required in professional peer-reviewed journals. Some Web sites contain statements that might lead asymptomatic women over age 50 years to delay screening mammography or to undergo screening at intervals of longer than 1 year.

Citation 36.

Unique Identifier

20108458

PubMed Identifier

10645860

Authors

Latthe PM. Latthe M. Khan KS.

Institution

Birmingham Women's Health Care NHS Trust, UK.

Title

Quality of medical information about menorrhagia on the worldwide web.

Source

Bjog. 107(1):39-43, 2000 Jan.

MeSH Subject Headings

Female
Human
Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*Menorrhagia / th [Therapy]

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of medical information on the management of menorrhagia on the worldwide web. DESIGN AND PROCEDURES: An on-line search of the Internet, locating relevant web sites by using key phrases 'heavy periods' and 'patient information' in seven search engines. Quality was defined as the extent to which the characteristics of a web page satisfied its stated and implied objectives. Assessment focused on credibility and content of each web page. Source, currency and editorial review process assessed credibility and hierarchy and accuracy of evidence assessed content of the web pages. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rate of compliance with preset criteria for quality of health information on the Internet. RESULTS: Nine relevant web pages were located, none of which complied with all of the criteria for quality. Seven of these pages displayed the source and five showed the currency of the information, while none described an editorial review process. Four web pages displayed a hierarchy of evidence and one web page depicted all the criteria for accuracy of its contents. CONCLUSION: None of the web pages provided complete information to women on heavy periods according to the quality criteria. This makes it difficult for the user without medical knowledge to determine which web page is credible and useable and which should be ignored or rejected. There is a need to be vigilant about the quality of information on the Internet.

Citation 37.

Unique Identifier

20319377

PubMed Identifier

10947392

Authors

Cooke A.

Title

Quality of health and medical information on the Internet.

Source

Clinical Performance & Quality Health Care. 7(4):178-85, 1999 Oct-Dec.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Internet
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Quality Control

Abstract

This article examines some of the problems associated with health and medical information available via the Internet. An overview is provided of gateway services that seek to provide access to high quality materials. Quality principles for health and medical Internet-based materials are highlighted and suggestions are offered for evaluating sources of information retrieved via the Internet. The article concludes that, although there is undeniably a vast quantity of useful material available via the Internet, the principles of basing health care on the best available evidence still apply and potential users need to critically appraise any information they wish to use.

Citation 38.

Unique Identifier

20109679

PubMed Identifier

10724952

Authors

Gobel G. Pfeiffer KP.

Institution

Institute of Biostatistics und Documentation, University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Title

GIN AUSTRIA. Assuring quality and relevance on Internet-health-informations for patients.

Source

Studies in Health Technology & Informatics. 68:562-7, 1999.

MeSH Subject Headings

Austria
Human
*Internet
*Medical Informatics Computing
*Patient Education
*Quality Assurance, Health Care
Total Quality Management
Vocabulary, Controlled

Abstract

GIN AUSTRIA (Gesundheitsinformationsnetz AUSTRIA) offers patients and consumers reliable medical knowledge about diseases, wellness and disease management in an understandable way and enables them to quick and incessant access to informations about the Austrian health system and Austrian health organizations. To improve the quality of the database and to achieve full customer (patients, citizens) satisfaction a systematic approach for implementing total quality management is also applied. Focusing the attention on understanding and responding to customer needs, systematic and continuous improving of the IS and total involvement of all participants are the three core TQM principles at this project. The second focus of the project is the development and the implementation (prototype) of a medical dictionary or rather medical thesaurus as interface for patients, who are not used to scientific terms and expressions. This interface is based on the controlled vocabulary of the MeSH-Thesaurus (german version).

Citation 39.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

99368651

PubMed Identifier

10439778

Authors

Hernandez-Borges AA. Macias-Cervi P. Gaspar-Guardado MA. Torres-Alvarez de Arcaya ML. Ruiz-Rabaza A. Ormazabal-Ramos C.

Institution

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain. borges@redkbs.com

Title

Assessing the relative quality of anesthesiology and critical care medicine Internet mailing lists. [see comments].

Comments

Comment in: Anesth Analg. 1999 Aug;89(2):271-2, Comment in: Anesth Analg. 2000 May;90(5):1246

Source

Anesthesia & Analgesia. 89(2):520-5, 1999 Aug.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Anesthesiology / st [Standards]
Bibliometrics
*Critical Care
*Internet / st [Standards]
Internet / ut [Utilization]
Publishing / st [Standards]

Abstract

We studied the relative quality of a subset of anesthesiology and critical care medicine Internet mailing lists regarding the publishing capacity of their members to compare them with the major journals and conferences regarding these specialties. Using systematic searches on MEDLINE and according to the Science Citation Index 1995, we investigated the impact factor of mailing list subscribers, of the first authors of the selected articles, and of the first authors of published abstracts from conferences. We studied six mailing lists, seven journals, and four conferences. Journals and conferences showed a higher percentage of published authors and higher average impact factor among their first authors than the mailing lists did per subscriber. However, when only the subset of publishing authors from the three media was considered, no significant differences were found. We conclude that qualified authors may be found among the subscribers of Internet medical mailing lists on anesthesiology and critical care medicine. These professional discussion groups could complement peer-reviewed publications and conferences in professional information exchange and continuing medical education. Implications: Internet publishing is not governed by rules that assure certain basic quality standards. Methods for assessing these standards are needed. We compared discussion groups with medical journals and conferences on anesthesiology and critical care medicine by calculating the impact factor of their members and first authors, respectively. Our study shows that qualified authors may be found in all three media.

Citation 40.

Unique Identifier

20118972

PubMed Identifier

10654811

Authors

Doupi P. van der Lei J.

Institution

Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. persa@jans.fbk.eur.nl

Title

Rx medication information for the public and the WWW: quality issues. [Review] [29 refs]

Source

Medical Informatics & the Internet in Medicine. 24(3):171-9, 1999 Jul-Sep.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Drug Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Abstract

Misuse of prescription medications is a serious problem largely due to lack of information. Lay users are making use of resources available on the World Wide Web in order to bridge this information gap. It has already been noted though that health and medicine oriented sites present serious shortcomings with regard to quality and reliability of their content. In this review, checklists were used to determine to which extent the criteria suggested for quality evaluation of on-line health information are observed by sites offering information on Rx medications to the public. Also evaluated was the sites comprehensiveness in coverage of important subject specific topics. The reviewed sites met inadequately the proposed quality criteria and presented significant variations in their coverage of the subject. Evaluation of information accuracy remains an unresolved problem in quality assessment, while techniques for automated review and retrieval are urgently needed. In the meantime, though, quality guidelines could prove more useful in getting valuable feedback from information providers and lay users alike, improving quality of information at its point of production. [References: 29]

Citation 41.

Unique Identifier

20033010

PubMed Identifier

10566500

Authors

Shon J. Musen MA.

Institution

Stanford Medical Informatics, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305-5479, USA.

Title

The low availability of metadata elements for evaluating the quality of medical information on the World Wide Web.

Source

Proceedings / AMIA Annual Symposium. :945-9, 1999.

MeSH Subject Headings

Breast Neoplasms / th [Therapy]
Evaluation Studies
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Information Services / sn [Statistics & Numerical Data]
Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Patient Education / st [Standards]
Publishing
Quality Control
Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Abstract

A great barrier to the use of Internet resources for patient education is the concern over the quality of information available. We conducted a study to determine what information was available in Web pages, both within text and metadata source code, that could be used in the assessment of information quality. Analysis of pages retrieved from 97 unique sites using a simple keyword search for "breast cancer treatment" on a generic and a health-specific search engine revealed that basic publishing elements were present in low frequency: authorship (20%), attribution/references (32%), disclosure (41%), and currency (35%). Only one page retrieved contained all four elements. Automated extraction of metadata elements from the source code of 822 pages retrieved from five popular generic search engines revealed even less information. We discuss the design of a metadata-based system for the evaluation of quality of medical content on the World Wide Web that addresses current limitations in ensuring quality.

Citation 42.

Unique Identifier

20033003

PubMed Identifier

10566493

Authors

Price SL. Hersh WR.

Institution

Division of Medical Informatics and Outcomes Research, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, USA.

Title

Filtering Web pages for quality indicators: an empirical approach to finding high quality consumer health information on the World Wide Web.

Source

Proceedings / AMIA Annual Symposium. :911-5, 1999.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Health Education / st [Standards]
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Control
*Software

Abstract

The World Wide Web is an increasingly popular source for consumer health information, but many authors have expressed concerns about the quality of health information present on the Internet. We have developed a prototype system that responds to a consumer health query by returning a list of Web pages that are ranked according to the likely quality of the page contents. A computer program identifies some of the criteria that have been suggested for assessing the quality of health information on the Internet. It also identifies characteristics that may serve as proxies for desirable (or undesirable) qualities that are difficult to assess directly using an algorithm. Intervening in the search process and automatically analyzing the contents of each page returned by a general search engine may facilitate the search for high quality consumer health information on the Web.

Citation 43.

Unique Identifier

20032985

PubMed Identifier

10566475

Authors

Joubert M. Aymard S. Fieschi D. Fieschi M.

Institution

LERTIM, Facult&#x00E9; de M&#x00E9;decine, Universit&#x00E9; de la M&#x00E9;diterran&#x00E9;e, Marseille, France.

Title

Quality criteria and access characteristics of Web sites: proposal for the design of a health Internet directory.

Source

Proceedings / AMIA Annual Symposium. :824-8, 1999.

MeSH Subject Headings

Abstracting and Indexing
Databases / og [Organization & Administration]
Databases / st [Standards]
*Directories
*Health
Information Services / og [Organization & Administration]
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
User-Computer Interface
Vocabulary, Controlled

Abstract

The increasing volume of information available on the Internet today is a problem for health care professionals who want to access rapidly data of high quality. Usual search engines and directories are not sufficient to satisfy their needs. Moreover, the information published by Web sites is not always guaranteed. Some institutions around the word deal with the definition of a set of criteria for the evaluation of medical Web sites. We base our current work on the technologies we developed previously in order to integrate sources of information of various kinds using the "Unified Medical Language System" knowledge bases. This paper focuses on quality criteria and access characteristics Web sites should satisfy to be registered in a "Health Internet Directory". The design of such a system is proposed and discussed.

Citation 44.

Unique Identifier

20032927

PubMed Identifier

10566417

Authors

Jones J.

Institution

School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin Madison, USA.

Title

Development of a self-assessment method for patients to evaluate health information on the Internet.

Source

Proceedings / AMIA Annual Symposium. :540-4, 1999.

MeSH Subject Headings

Evaluation Studies
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet / st [Standards]
Pilot Projects
Quality Assurance, Health Care
Questionnaires
Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Abstract

For patients to make efficient use of the plethora of health information available on the Internet, they must be able to determine the quality and relevance of that information to their particular situation. Quality and relevance are conceptualized based on behavior and patterns of users on the web. The development and pilot-testing of a self-assessment method for patients to evaluate health care oriented websites are presented. The data analysis of the pilot-study suggests that the subjects perceived the method as helpful in evaluating quality and relevance of health information on the web.

Citation 45.

Unique Identifier

20083479

PubMed Identifier

10617189

Authors

Allen ES. Burke JM. Welch ME. Rieseberg LH.

Title

How reliable is science information on the web? [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: Nature. 1999 Jul 8;400(6740):107-9, Comment on: Nature. 1999 Sep 9;401(6749):111

Source

Nature. 402(6763):722, 1999 Dec 16.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

Information Management
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Control
*Research / st [Standards]

Citation 46.

Unique Identifier

20067946

PubMed Identifier

10604457

Authors

Elliott R. Frankel MS.

Title

Seeking a guide to the quality of web writing. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: Nature. 1999 Oct 21;401(6755):727

Source

Nature. 402(6762):576, 1999 Dec 9.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Internet / st [Standards]
Peer Review, Research
*Writing / st [Standards]

Citation 47.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20051486

PubMed Identifier

10584097

Authors

OReilly M.

Institution

mike@oreilly.net

Title

Developing a code of conduct for the Web.

Source

CMAJ. 161(10):1301, 1999 Nov 16.

Local Messages

Check holdings at Cooper, Stratford, New Brunswick, Newark

MeSH Subject Headings

Human
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Quality Control

Citation 48.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

20047647

PubMed Identifier

10582822

Authors

Hatfield CL. May SK. Markoff JS.

Institution

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Drug Information Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado, Denver, USA. cathy.hatfield@uchsc.edu

Title

Quality of consumer drug information provided by four Web sites.

Source

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. 56(22):2308-11, 1999 Nov 15.

Local Messages

Check holdings at Stratford, New Brunswick, Newark

MeSH Subject Headings

*Drug Information Services / st [Standards]
Human
*Internet

Abstract

The quality of drug-specific information available to consumers on the Internet was studied. The 30 most commonly dispensed prescription drugs were selected to represent those medications for which consumers would be seeking information. A Web page evaluation form was developed to objectively evaluate each site in terms of sponsors, references, recency of updates, ease of use, overall organization, and other characteristics. A second form was developed to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the drug information provided by the sites. Four Internet sites, MedicineNet, RxList, Drug InfoNet, and thriveonline, were evaluated. Authors, contributors, and references were identified for three of the sites. All sites had disclaimers advising patients to seek the advice of a health care professional, all indexed drug information by both brand name and generic name, and all were well organized. Only RxList and MedicineNet contained information on all the drugs evaluated. For the drugs documented, RxList, MedicineNet, Drug InfoNet, and thriveonline contained 84%, 60%, 87%, and 72% of the 22 variables assessed, respectively. The accuracy of the information provided was greater than 98% for all the sites. Only two of four Internet sites containing consumer drug information included all the prescription drugs being evaluated. Most but not all of the information on the four sites was accurate.

Citation 49.

Unique Identifier

99457782

PubMed Identifier

10528475

Authors

Candler C.

Institution

chris-candler@ouhsc.edu

Title

Caveat lector: getting quality out of the Internet.

Source

Journal - Oklahoma State Medical Association. 92(10):508-9, 1999 Oct.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Authorship
Human
Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Journalism, Medical / st [Standards]
MEDLINE
Oklahoma
Quality Control

Citation 50.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

99418920

PubMed Identifier

10488009

Authors

Shepperd S. Charnock D. Gann B.

Institution

Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, Division of Primary Care and Population Health Sciences, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London W2 1PG. S.Shepperd@ic.ac.uk

Title

Helping patients access high quality health information. [see comments]. [Review] [22 refs]

Comments

Comment in: BMJ. 1999 Sep 18;319(7212):719-20, Comment in: BMJ. 2000 Jan 1;320(7226):59

Source

BMJ. 319(7212):764-6, 1999 Sep 18.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Human
Information Services / st [Standards]
*Information Services / sd [Supply & Distribution]
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Patient Education
Quality Control
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Citation 51.

Unique Identifier

99436694

PubMed Identifier

10506806

Authors

Hersh W.

Institution

Division of Medical Informatics &#38; Outcomes Research, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, USA.

Title

The quality of information on the World Wide Web.

Source

Journal of the American College of Dentists. 66(2):43-5, 1999 Summer.

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Dentistry
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Control

Abstract

How can a healthcare provider or patient evaluate the quality of information available on the Internet? The credibility and interests of the host should be considered and a filter that screens sites might help. In the end, however, there is no substitute for the experience of a qualified practitioner.

Citation 52.

Unique Identifier

99364885

PubMed Identifier

10438174

Authors

Booth A.

Institution

School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, UK. A.Booth@sheffield.ac.uk

Title

Pharm-ing cyberspace: the Internet as a tool for evidence based pharmacotherapy.

Source

Journal of Clinical Pharmacy & Therapeutics. 24(3):159-63, 1999 Jun.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Drug Information Services
*Drug Therapy
*Evidence-Based Medicine
Human
*Internet
Patient Care Planning
Quality Control

Abstract

Although the Internet lacks many of the features of a desirable drug information system, it has increasing potential to inform evidence-based patient management. This article considers three contributions that the Internet can make to evidence-based pharmacotherapy; as a delivery mechanism for textual documents, as a complementary source of intelligence and as a source of value-added information. Focusing on exemplar sites, rather than on drug and information sources in general, the author reviews the usefulness and availability of current resources. While limitations of the technology presently constrain its use for direct patient care and the quality of any information must be critically appraised, the Internet has already proved a valuable source for drug evaluation, education, research and audit.

Citation 53.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

99368601

PubMed Identifier

10439728

Authors

Tramer MR.

Title

How can we cope with the Internet? [letter; comment]. [see comments].

Comments

Comment on: Anesth Analg. 1999 Aug;89(2):520-5, Comment in: Anesth Analg. 2000 May;90(5):1246

Source

Anesthesia & Analgesia. 89(2):271-2, 1999 Aug.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Anesthesiology / st [Standards]
Communication
Critical Care / st [Standards]
Human
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Publishing / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Citation 54.

Unique Identifier

99360180

PubMed Identifier

10431511

Authors

Eysenbach G. Diepgen TL.

Institution

Dept. of Clinical Social Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Title

Labeling and filtering of medical information on the Internet.

Source

Methods of Information in Medicine. 38(2):80-8, 1999 Jun.

Local Messages

Check holdings at Newark

MeSH Subject Headings

Human
*Information Services / og [Organization & Administration]
*Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet
*Quality Assurance, Health Care / mt [Methods]
Software
Vocabulary, Controlled

Abstract

Internet information undergoes no quality controls and virtually anybody can publish anything. Because of this, it is difficult for searchers to take information retrieved from the Internet at face value. A related problem is the uncontrolled promotion of medical products on the Internet. A further problem of todays Internet is that authors use no uniform keywords and other descriptive labels, which deteriorates the quality of search results. A solution for all these problems could be widespread use of descriptive and evaluative metainformation associated with medical Internet information. Our concept is based on a recently established infrastructure for assigning metadata to Internet information, the so-called PICS Standard (Platform for Internet Content Selection). We prototyped a PICS-based rating vocabulary for medical information (med-PICS), containing descriptive and evaluative categories, to be used by the webauthor and third-party label services (such as medical associations), respectively. We propose an international effort to assign metadata to medical Internet information.

Citation 55.

Unique Identifier

99327908

PubMed Identifier

10399709

Authors

Sacile R. Wiley T. Lombardo C.

Institution

Department of International Affairs of the National Institute for Cancer Research (INRC) of Genova, Italy.

Title

Quality assurance guidelines for a biomedical information web system: the working experience of the BreakIT project. [Review] [10 refs]

Source

Medical Informatics & the Internet in Medicine. 24(2):109-20, 1999 Apr-Jun.

MeSH Subject Headings

Breast Neoplasms / di [Diagnosis]
Breast Neoplasms / th [Therapy]
Female
*Guidelines
Human
*Internet / st [Standards]
Italy
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Software / st [Standards]
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
User-Computer Interface

Abstract

The paper outlines the quality control issues that arise in the implementation of a Web site which delivers biomedical information. At the heart of this study is the need for a methodology to guarantee that the information contained in the site is viable and accurate from both an informatic and a content point of view. This methodology is currently adopted in the Web development of the BreakIT project sponsored by the EU INFO2000 Programme. [References: 10]

Citation 56.

Unique Identifier

99324769

PubMed Identifier

10396447

Authors

Branfoot T. Oliver CW.

Institution

Airedale General Hospital, West Yorkshire, UK.

Title

A review of the quality of trauma protocols on the Internet. [Review] [11 refs]

Source

Injury. 30(1):1-7, 1999 Jan.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Clinical Protocols / st [Standards]
Decision Making
Documentation / st [Standards]
Great Britain
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Peer Review, Research
*Quality of Health Care
Traumatology / st [Standards]
United States
*Wounds and Injuries / th [Therapy]

Abstract

A review of trauma protocols found on the Internet was performed in September 1997 to evaluate the content, presentation and usefulness of these resources. A wide variation was found in the nature of these protocols, the educational content and the academic strengths of the web pages. We attempted to define a protocol and a scoring system to assess these documents and reviewed each accordingly. [References: 11]

Citation 57.

Unique Identifier

99078508

PubMed Identifier

9861515

Authors

Boyer C. Selby M. Scherrer JR. Appel RD.

Institution

Health On the Net Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland. celia.boyer@hon.ch

Title

The Health On the Net Code of Conduct for medical and health Websites.

Source

Computers in Biology & Medicine. 28(5):603-10, 1998 Sep.

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MeSH Subject Headings

Advertising
Confidentiality
Credentialing
*Ethics, Medical
*Ethics, Professional
Financial Support
Guidelines
Human
*Internet / st [Standards]
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Policy Making
Publishing / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Telemedicine / st [Standards]

Abstract

Internet has become one of the most used communication media. This and the fact that no constraining information publishing policy exists have created an urgent need to control the quality of information circulating through this media. To this purpose, the Health On the Net Foundation has initiated the Code of Conduct (HONcode) for the health/medical domain. This initiative proposes guidelines to information providers, with the aim, on the one hand, of raising the quality of data available on the Net and, on the other hand, of helping to identify Internet sites that are maintained by qualified people and contain reliable data. The HONcode mainly includes the following ethical aspects: the authors credentials, the date of the last modification with respect to clinical documents, confidentiality of data, source data reference, funding and the advertising policy. This article presents the HONcode and its evolution since it was launched in 1996.

Citation 58.

Unique Identifier

99086624

PubMed Identifier

9869800

Authors

McLeod SD.

Title

The quality of medical information on the Internet. A new public health concern. [Review] [19 refs]

Source

Archives of Ophthalmology. 116(12):1663-5, 1998 Dec.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

Delivery of Health Care / st [Standards]
Human
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Ophthalmology / st [Standards]
*Public Health / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Reproducibility of Results

Citation 59.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

99051215

PubMed Identifier

9831581

Authors

Eysenbach G. Diepgen TL.

Institution

Unit for Medical Informatics, Epidemiology, and Public Health, Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Erlangen, Hartmannstrasse 14, 91052 Erlangen, Germany. Gunther.Eysenbach@derma.med.uni-erlangen.de

Title

Towards quality management of medical information on the internet: evaluation, labelling, and filtering of information. [see comments]. [Review] [30 refs]

Comments

Comment in: BMJ. 1998 Nov 28;317(7171):1469-70, Comment in: BMJ. 1999 Apr 24;318(7191):1144-5, Comment in: BMJ. 1999 Aug 7;319(7206):385-6

Source

BMJ. 317(7171):1496-500, 1998 Nov 28.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

Information Storage and Retrieval
*Internet / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Reference Standards

Citation 60.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

99008434

PubMed Identifier

9794303

Authors

Hersh WR. Gorman PN. Sacherek LS.

Title

Applicability and quality of information for answering clinical questions on the Web.

Source

JAMA. 280(15):1307-8, 1998 Oct 21.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Internet
*Medical Informatics Applications
*Quality Assurance, Health Care

Citation 61.

Unique Identifier

98444458

PubMed Identifier

9771496

Authors

Kiley R.

Institution

Welcome Trust, London, UK. r.kiley@wellcome.ac.uk

Title

Quality of medical information on the Internet.

Source

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 91(7):369-70, 1998 Jul.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

*Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
Databases / st [Standards]
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Quackery
Quality Control

Citation 62.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

98396808

PubMed Identifier

9728636

Authors

Malet GF. Busis NA.

Title

Internet health ratings systems: knowledge vs Babel. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: JAMA. 1998 Feb 25;279(8):611-4

Source

JAMA. 280(8):698; discussion 699, 1998 Aug 26.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Computer Communication Networks
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics
Quality Control

Citation 63.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

98396807

PubMed Identifier

9728635

Authors

Clarke HF.

Title

Internet health ratings systems: knowledge vs Babel. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: JAMA. 1998 Feb 25;279(8):611-4

Source

JAMA. 280(8):698; discussion 699, 1998 Aug 26.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Computer Communication Networks
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics
Quality Control

Citation 64.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

98396809

PubMed Identifier

9728637

Authors

Rippen HE. Guard R. Kragen M. Byrns P. Silber D. Buckovich S.

Title

Internet health ratings systems: knowledge vs Babel. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: JAMA. 1998 Feb 25;279(8):611-4

Source

JAMA. 280(8):698-9, 1998 Aug 26.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Computer Communication Networks
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics
Quality Control
Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Citation 65.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

98396806

PubMed Identifier

9728634

Authors

Badgett RG. Lawrence JC.

Title

Internet health ratings systems: knowledge vs Babel. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: JAMA. 1998 Feb 25;279(8):611-4

Source

JAMA. 280(8):697-8; discussion 699, 1998 Aug 26.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Computer Communication Networks
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics
Quality Control

Citation 66.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

98342279

PubMed Identifier

9677206

Authors

Coulter A.

Title

Evidence based patient information. is important, so there needs to be a national strategy to ensure it. [letter; comment]. [see comments].

Comments

Comment on: BMJ. 1998 Jul 25;317(7153):263-4, Comment on: BMJ. 1998 Jul 25;317(7153):264-5, Comment in: BMJ. 1999 Feb 13;318(7181):461, Comment in: BMJ. 1999 Feb 13;318(7181):461-2, Comment in: BMJ. 1999 Feb 13;318(7181):462

Source

BMJ. 317(7153):225-6, 1998 Jul 25.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

*Evidence-Based Medicine
Human
Information Services / st [Standards]
*Information Services
Quality Control

Citation 67.

Unique Identifier

99455799

PubMed Identifier

10621388

Authors

Garrison S.

Institution

Duke University Medical Center Library, Durham, NC 27710, USA.

Title

Evaluating health Internet sites: a white papers criteria.

Source

Medical Reference Services Quarterly. 17(3):41-7, 1998 Fall.

Local Messages

Check holdings at Stratford, New Brunswick, Newark

MeSH Subject Headings

Evaluation Studies
*Health Care Sector
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Internet / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Societies
United States

Citation 68.

Unique Identifier

99163333

PubMed Identifier

10344953

Authors

Gann B.

Institution

Centre for Health Information Quality, Winchester, UK.

Title

Centre for Health Information Quality.

Source

Health Libraries Review. 15(4):295-6, 1998 Dec.

MeSH Subject Headings

Great Britain
*Health Education
*Information Centers
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Internet
Quality Control
State Medicine / st [Standards]

Citation 69.

Unique Identifier

96315510

PubMed Identifier

10159428

Authors

Phillips DF.

Title

Is the Internet a health hazard?.

Source

Hospital Technology Series. 15(7):4-5, 1996 Jun.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Health Education / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Referral and Consultation
United States

Citation 70.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

98146162

PubMed Identifier

9486757

Authors

Jadad AR. Gagliardi A.

Institution

Health Information Research Unit, Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. jadada@fhs.mcmaster.ca

Title

Rating health information on the Internet: navigating to knowledge or to Babel? [see comments]. [Review] [14 refs]

Comments

Comment in: JAMA. 1998 Aug 26;280(8):697-8; discussion 699, Comment in: JAMA. 1998 Aug 26;280(8):698-9, Comment in: JAMA. 1998 Aug 26;280(8):698; discussion 699

Source

JAMA. 279(8):611-4, 1998 Feb 25.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Computer Communication Networks
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics
Quality Control
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Abstract

CONTEXT: The rapid growth of the Internet has triggered an information revolution of unprecedented magnitude. Despite its obvious benefits, the increase in the availability of information could also result in many potentially harmful effects on both consumers and health professionals who do not use it appropriately. OBJECTIVES: To identify instruments used to rate Web sites providing health information on the Internet, rate criteria used by them, establish the degree of validation of the instruments, and provide future directions for research in this area. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE (1966-1997), CINHAL (1982-1997), HEALTH (1975-1997), Information Science Abstracts (1966 to September 1995), Library and Information Science Abstracts (1969-1995), and Library Literature (1984-1996); the search engines Lycos, Excite, Open Text, Yahoo, HotBot, Infoseek, and Magellan; Internet discussion lists; meeting proceedings; multiple Web pages; and reference lists. INSTRUMENT SELECTION: Instruments used at least once to rate the quality of Web sites providing health information with their rating criteria available on the Internet. DATA EXTRACTION: The name of the developing organization, Internet address, rating criteria, information on the development of the instrument, number and background of people generating the assessments, and data on the validity and reliability of the measurements. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 47 rating instruments were identified. Fourteen provided a description of the criteria used to produce the ratings, and 5 of these provided instructions for their use. None of the instruments identified provided information on the interobserver reliability and construct validity of the measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Many incompletely developed instruments to evaluate health information exist on the Internet. It is unclear, however, whether they should exist in the first place, whether they measure what they claim to measure, or whether they lead to more good than harm. [References: 14]

Citation 71.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

97420666

PubMed Identifier

9276651

Authors

Culver JD. Gerr F. Frumkin H.

Institution

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

Title

Medical information on the Internet: a study of an electronic bulletin board. [see comments].

Comments

Comment in: J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Aug;12(8):511-2

Source

Journal of General Internal Medicine. 12(8):466-70, 1997 Aug.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

Alternative Medicine
Arm / pp [Physiopathology]
*Computer Communication Networks
Cumulative Trauma Disorders / pp [Physiopathology]
Hand / pp [Physiopathology]
Human
Patient Education
Quality Assurance, Health Care
*Self-Help Groups
Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess medical information provided in a medically oriented Internet discussion group, in terms of the professional status of the individuals providing information, the consistency of the information with standard medical practice, and the nature of the evidence cited in support of specific claims or recommendations. DESIGN: Standardized review of 1,658 consecutive messages on a particular online discussion group during a 5-month period. SETTING: An online discussion group for sufferers of painful hand and arm conditions. SUBJECTS: All participants in this discussion group during the study period. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Professional training of those offering medical information, consistency of the advice and recommendations offered with conventional medical practice, and nature of evidence cited in support of medical claims were determined. Of all messages, 55.9% (927) addressed a medical topic. Of these, 79% (732) provided medical information, of which 89.3% (654) were authored by persons without professional medical training, and 5.1% (37) were authored by trained health professionals. Approximately one third of the medical information provided was classified as unconventional. Personal experience was the basis of information provided in 61% of the nonprofessionals messages and 13.5% of the professionals messages, while no source was given as the basis of information provided in 29.8% of the nonprofessionals messages and 67.6% of the professionals messages. A published source was cited in 9.2% of the nonprofessionals and 18.9% of the professionals messages. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that medical information available on Internet discussion groups may come from nonprofessionals and may be unconventional, based on limited evidence, and/or inappropriate.

Citation 72.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

97417515

PubMed Identifier

9272888

Authors

Strauss K.

Title

Quality of medical information on the Internet. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: JAMA. 1997 Apr 16;277(15):1244-5

Source

JAMA. 278(8):632; discussion 632-3, 1997 Aug 27.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

*Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Quality Control

Citation 73.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

97417514

PubMed Identifier

9272887

Authors

Mack J.

Title

Quality of medical information on the Internet. [letter; comment].

Comments

Comment on: JAMA. 1997 Apr 16;277(15):1244-5

Source

JAMA. 278(8):632; discussion 632-3, 1997 Aug 27.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

*Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Information Services / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
Quality Control

Citation 74.

Unique Identifier

98019829

PubMed Identifier

9356981

Authors

Wootton JC.

Institution

Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary &#38; Alternative Medicine, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA.

Title

The quality of information on womens health on the Internet.

Source

Journal of Womens Health. 6(5):575-81, 1997 Oct.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

Adult
*Computer Communication Networks
Female
Human
*Information Services / st [Standards]
Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Quality Control
*Women's Health

Abstract

The World Wide Web is an excellent information resource for professionals and the public to gain clinical knowledge. Internet technology has changed the way we perceive and present data because of the speed with which complex data manipulations are now possible and the vast quantities of data involved. The need for current, comprehensive data gave rise to a prevailing tradition of clear, factual, and impartial information resources on the Internet. Most arguments in favor of regulating and restricting the information that is accessible to patients underestimate the power of the new health care consumers and fail to distinguish between quality of information and quality of knowledge.

Citation 75.
ALT="Full Text" ALIGN="top"

Unique Identifier

97256510

PubMed Identifier

9103351

Authors

Silberg WM. Lundberg GD. Musacchio RA.

Title

Assessing, controlling, and assuring the quality of medical information on the Internet: Caveant lector et viewor--Let the reader and viewer beware. [see comments].

Comments

Comment in: JAMA. 1997 Aug 27;278(8):632; discussion 632-3

Source

JAMA. 277(15):1244-5, 1997 Apr 16.

Local Messages

Check holdings at all UMDNJ libraries

MeSH Subject Headings

Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Computer Communication Networks
Information Services / st [Standards]
*Information Services
Medical Informatics / st [Standards]
*Medical Informatics
Publishing
Quality Assurance, Health Care
Quality Control

Citation 76.

Unique Identifier

96315510

PubMed Identifier

10159428

Authors

Phillips DF.

Title

Is the Internet a health hazard?.

Source

Hospital Technology Series. 15(7):4-5, 1996 Jun.

MeSH Subject Headings

*Computer Communication Networks / st [Standards]
*Health Education / st [Standards]
Quality Control
Referral and Consultation
United States

Citation 77.

Unique Identifier

96205708

PubMed Identifier

10157639

Authors

van Leeuwen D. Marks L.

Institution

HANYS Services, Inc., Albany, NY, USA.

Title

Using the Internet for professional development.

Source

Journal for Healthcare Quality. 18(3):22-3,; quiz 23, 42, 1996 May-Jun.

Local Messages

Check holdings at New Brunswick

MeSH Subject Headings

*Administrative Personnel / ed [Education]
*Career Mobility
*Computer Communication Networks / ut [Utilization]
Education, Continuing
Organizational Culture
*Quality Assurance, Health Care / og [Organization & Administration]
Total Quality Management
United States

Abstract

This article relates how having access to and learning to use the Internet can benefit the careers of quality management professionals. Some ways to use the Internet for career enhancement are addressed, and some basic terms are explained.

Citation 78.

Unique Identifier

97042878

PubMed Identifier

8888076

Authors

Marra CA. Carleton BC. Lynd LD. Marra F. McDougal AR. Chow D. McKerrow R.

Institution

Pharmaceutical and Outcomes Research Program, British Columbia's Children's and Women's Hospitals, Vancouver, Canada. cmarra@unixg.ubc.ca

Title

Drug and poison information resources on the Internet, Part 2: Identification and evaluation. [Review] [8 refs]

Source

Pharmacotherapy. 16(5):806-18, 1996 Sep-Oct.

Local Messages

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MeSH Subject Headings

Comparative Study
*Computer Communication Networks / og [Organization & Administration]
*Drug Information Services / og [Organization & Administration]
Evaluation Studies
Information Systems
Medical Informatics
Poisoning
Quality Control

Abstract

The Internet is a potential source of information for practitioners and researchers of pharmaceutical sciences. Despite its explosive growth and popularity, pharmacists and other health care providers have been slow to use the Internet as a source of clinical information. We have identified and evaluated several sites available on the Internet that are devoted to providing information related to professional practice, pharmacotherapy, and toxicology. We have concerns, however, regarding the quality of the available information and advise users to be cautious in using the data they obtain. [References: 8]