Health Tip: Using the Web for Health Information

While the Internet can be a great source of health knowledge, it is important to make sure that you're getting sound advice from a trusted source.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these guidelines:

• Make sure the information was either written or medically reviewed by a doctor, or that the original source is clearly noted.
• Look for reliable sources for statistics.
• Make sure the information is factual, versus opinion.
• Look for information that has been written or updated within the past year.
• Sites run by government, university or nonprofit organizations tend to be reliable because they are not funded by companies that may have a conflict-of-interest.