What a wonderful age we live in. In the Information Age, information is literally at our fingertips.  Surfing the internet is an American pastime. This is a wonderful thing! How great is it that health care consumers can empower themselves with information that can help improve their health?

Of course, not all of the information out there is necessarily good information, nor is it timely, concise, accurate, or in your best interest for that matter. There is definitely a lot of ‘junk’ floating around out there in cyberspace. So how do we sort through it all?  Must we be forced to be subjected to the good, the bad AND the ugly?

When it comes to determining if a health web site is worthy of your attention or not, you must first answer three simple questions: ‘Who?’, ‘What?’, and ‘Where?’

‘Who?’ 
 
The very first question you should ask yourself when viewing a health-related site is, ‘Who is writing the content?’. Would you ask your mechanic for advice on how to treat your high blood pressure? I wouldn’t either. For this reason, you should make sure that any medically-related advice on the site is written by a health care professional. Medical professionals have the knowledge and frame of reference to safely and accurately address health issues. Take advantage of their expertise. That’s what they are there for!

‘What?’ 
 
The second question you should ask yourself when visiting a health-related site is, “What kind of information is available?’. Is the information provided based purely on the opinions of the writers or is the information based on sound, scientific evidence. There are way too many health gurus out there today, touting remedies and information that are not backed by any data whatsoever. Many of these gurus have made a lot of money giving out health advice which in reality is little more than their opinion. You have probably seen some of these gurus on television talk shows or heard them on the radio. Beware. When it comes to medicine, advice that is not backed by sound, scientific data is nothing more than opinion.

‘Where?’ 
 
The last question to ask yourself is, ‘Where is this information coming from?’ If you were to examine some of your favorite health websites more closely, you may find that many of the ‘articles’ written are little more than advertisements. These types of advertisements are meant to look like articles and draw the reader in. If you look closer, however, you will find that the article is promoting and is sponsored by a particular product or website. This not only happens on the internet but it is becoming more common in newspapers and magazines as well. Beware of articles that overly promote a certain product or service. If the article does seem to lean heavily toward a particular product or service, take a closer look. Is the provider of the information an unbiased source of information? Or is the information offered being colored by the sponsor.

The Bottom Line 
 
The average person is way too busy these days to waste their time reading ‘spam-like’ health information. When presented with health info on the internet, take a couple of moments to ask yourself the three questions above.  You will be glad you did.