Consumer Health: Research a Disease or Condition

An online symptom checker is not a substitute for a doctor's advice. Use these resources to determine the urgency of your problem and decide if you need to see a doctor immediately, within the week, or when you have time.

• Health Check Tools (From the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health)
• Symptom Checker (From the Mayo Clinic)
• Symptom Checker (From WebMD)

Since anyone can publish a web page, not all of the information you find on the Internet will be accurate, reliable, or applicable to your situation. This is as true of health information as anything else.

If you're wondering how to tell if a health-related website is a reliable source of information, try these guides to evaluate the site for yourself.

• A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web
• National Library of Medicine: Evaluating Health Information 

If you Google, keep these things in mind. Otherwise, you can use the links and resources in this research guide to find accurate, reliable health information.

Need help deciphering medspeak? For an interactive approach, you can walk through this tutorial from the National Library of Medicine. You might also want to explore the Madison College library's guide to Medical Terminology.

Please remember that these resources are provided for informational use only and are not a substitute for medical advice. If you have a medical issue, see your doctor, and discuss any information you find in your research with your doctor as well.

Sponsorship​

• Sponsorship is important because it helps establish the site as respected and dependable. Can you easily identify the site sponsor? Does the site list advisory board members or consultants? This may give you further insights on the credibility of information published on the site.
• The web address itself can provide additional information about the nature of the site and the sponsor's intent.
  • A government agency has .gov in the address.
  • An educational institution is indicated by .edu in the address.
  • A professional organization such as a scientific or research society will be identified as .org. For example, the American Cancer Society's website is http://www.cancer.org/.
  • Commercial sites identified by .com will most often identify the sponsor as a company, for example Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical firm.
• What should you know about .com health sites? Commercial sites may represent a specific company or be sponsored by a company using the web for commercial reasons—to sell products. At the same time, many commercial websites have valuable and credible information. Many hospitals have .com in their address. The site should fully disclose the sponsor of the site, including the identities of commercial and noncommercial organizations that have contributed funding, services, or material.

Currency

• The site should be updated frequently. Health information changes constantly as new information is learned about diseases and treatments through research and patient care. Websites should reflect the most up-to-date information.
• The website should be consistently available, with the date of the latest revision clearly posted. This usually appears at the bottom of the page.

Factual information

• Information should be presented in a clear manner. It should be factual (not opinion) and capable of being verified from a primary information source such as the professional literature, abstracts, or links to other web pages.
• Information represented as an opinion should be clearly marked and the source should be identified as a qualified professional or organization.

Audience

• The website should clearly state whether the information is intended for the consumer or the health professional.
• Many health information websites have two different areas - one for consumers, one for professionals. The design of the site should make selection of one area over the other clear to the user.