Evaluating Information

There are thousands of Web sites that provide health information, but you should be very careful about which ones to trust.

Always be sure that:

• the producer or sponsor of the information is clearly stated
• the information comes from well-known sources (for example: the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Mayo Clinic, and the like)
• the information is up to date
• the main purpose is not to sell you something

Learn more about evaluating health information:

How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet
From the National Cancer Institute

User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web
From the Medical Library Association

MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing
From the National Library of Medicine