Judge: web sites for health - support group guidelines - how to help consumers use health information

	4.0 How to help consumers use health information:

		4.1 Promoting the value of information 4.2 Using gateways 4.3 Using search engines 4.4 Search tips and confidence building 4.5 Judging the quality of information 4.6 Managing info in partnership with health professionals

4.6 Managing information in partnership with health professionals

Give tips on how health consumers could best ask their doctor about information they have found on the Internet, for example, a piece of medical research, a particular therapy or drug.

Suggest they talk it over with a support group first. This could answer many of their questions. However you must make it clear that support groups cannot replace consultation with a doctor.

Advise them to make best use of the short consultation time they will have with a very busy doctor by:

selecting one piece of high quality information, from a professional medical source:
(a) written by a doctor or medical researcher;
(b) with the author's name and details;
(c) the date, and details of the source;
(d) the Web address.
taking this to the consultation:
(a) or sending the information in advance so the doctor has time to read it.

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© Copyright for this site is held by Contact a Family and the Information Society Research and Consultancy Group, School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, Northumbria University. Site published February 2003. Last updated October 2006. Review date October 2007.