Learn about Health on the Net (HON)

Did you hear the HealthLink on Air patient tip about Health on the Net?  Learn more here.

Do you ever look up health or medical information on the internet?  If so, you are part of a large group of people who do so.  In fact more than 80 percent of Americans who have access to the internet use it, at least occasionally, to gather information about health and medical topics.

But has you’ve probably heard before, there is a lot of information on the web that is not credible.  And if you find bad information online, and rely on it to help you make health or medical decisions, you could be doing yourself, or your loved one, a real disservice – you might even cause harm.

As Every Patient’s Advocate, I’m often asked about ways to be sure information is useful or credible, so for the next few weeks, I’m going to provide some tips for finding good information on the web.

Here’s the first tip:

There is a not-for-profit group located in Switzerland called Health On the Net that provides a credentialing service for health-related websites. Health on the net, also called HON, was started in 1995 by physicians, researchers and others from the World Health Organization, including well-known medical professionals like heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey. They wanted to develop a credential for any body that would issue health information electronically.

Today you can find Health on the Net, HON, online at www.HON.ch – yes, that’s ch at the end which is the extension that websites developed in Switzerland use.  Knowing about HON can help you in two ways.

One way it helps you is that it is a portal, a fancy name for a search engine.  If you go to the website at www.HON.ch, you can search for any type of health or medical information – and the results you find will be credible, because it has all been reviewed by HON. Not only have those websites had to go through a very strict approval process to be accessible through HON’s website, but they are reviewed on at least an annual basis in order to keep their approval. 

The other way you can benefit by knowing about the HON logo is to recognize it when you see it on an approved website. 

All websites that meet the strict HON guidelines feature a small red, white and blue icon or logo on every page of the website, and the logo has an accreditation date on it.  Those of you savvy enough to know that anyone can put any kind of logo on a website are right – but HON takes it a step further.  If you find that logo on a website with health information, it will link back to the HON website and you’ll find the certification number that goes along with it. If that doesn’t happen, then the website has stolen the logo. It’s a simple, but effective way to make sure a site has been accredited – and will then provide you with credible information.

If you would like to see an example of the HON logo, log on to www.diagKNOWsis.org – that’s diagKNOWsis.org – scroll to the bottom of the page, and you’ll see the HON logo.

If you’d like to find more tips for sharp patients, log on to the HealthLink on Air website and find a link to Every Patient’s advocate.