Yesterday I was interviewed by ABC 702 regarding how to find authoritative healthcare content online a must know topic for medical marketing.
Here are some of my tips:
- Review the URL and understand how information is organised on the web. For example, .org is an organisation, edu education and government is .gov. When selecting reputable information go to these websites for the more reputable disease information
- Beware of Bias – examine the site’s purpose and look carefully at the author of that site to see what vested interests are behind the information
- The Cure – many sites discuss finding a cure if it seems too good to be true it probably is! examine the content very carefully.
- Make sure the information is dated so you know the currency of the research or study
- Check if the linked websites are also of good quality
If you are a health organisation looking to provide health information on the web ensure that you are also meeting the above criteria to ensure your healthcare content is valid.