Health On the Net Foundation Code of Conduct for medical and health web sites

Health On the Net Foundation Code of Conduct for medical and health web sites.

HONcode Principles

Principle 1
Any medical/health advice provided and hosted on this site will only be given by medically/health trained and qualified professionals unless a clear statement is made that a piece of advice offered is from a non-medically/health qualified individual/organisation.

Principle 2
The information provided on this site is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician.

Principle 3
Confidentiality of data relating to individual patients and visitors to a medical/health website, including their identity, is respected by this Website. The Website owners undertake to honour or exceed the legal requirements of medical/health information privacy that apply in the country and state where the Website and mirror sites are located.

Principle 4
Where appropriate, information contained on this site will be supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, have specific HTML links to that data. The date when a clinical page was last modified will be clearly displayed (e.g. at the bottom of the page).

Principle 5
Any claims relating to the benefits/performance of a specific treatment, commercial product or service will be supported by appropriate, balanced evidence in the manner outlined in Principle 4. above.

Principle 6
The designers of this Website will seek to provide information in the clearest possible manner and provide contact addresses for visitors that seek further information or support. The Webmaster will display his/her E-mail address clearly throughout the Website.

Principle 7
Support for this website will be clearly identified, including the identities of commercial and non-commercial organisations that have contributed funding, services or material for the site.

Principle 8
If advertising is a source of funding it will be clearly stated. A brief description of the advertising policy adopted by the website owners will be displayed on the site. Advertising and other promotional material will be presented to viewers in a manner and context that facilitates differentiation between it and the original material created by the institution operating the site.

If there is a blatant violation of these principles on a Website displaying the HONcode logo, the owner will be asked to make appropriate modifications to the site by the Health On the Net Foundation. If this request does not result in such modifications the Website owner will be instructed to remove the logo from his/her site. Failure to do so will result in appropriate action.

Members of the Net community that consider a Website displaying the HONcode logo to be blatantly violating any of these principles are asked to notify the Webmaster/owner of that site by email with a copy to HONcode@hon.ch.

These Principles have evolved from discussions with Webmasters, patient support groups and medical professionals in several countries. Health On the Net Foundation expresses its thanks for this valuable input and welcomes further input from the Net community. The Principles will evolve with time. All comments should be E-mailed to HONcode@hon.ch.

We would like to thank those of you who adhere to the principles of HONcode.

Disclaimer

The Health On the Net Foundation wholeheartedly supports the propagation of valuable health and medical information on the Internet and appreciates the considerable effort of many individuals and organisations around the World in providing this information. The Foundation is not responsible for and cannot control any aspect of the content of web pages other than its own.

Version 1.6 April 1997

Health On the Net Foundation is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Its mission is to build and support the international health and medical community on the Internet and World-Wide Web so that the potential benefits of this new communications medium may be realised by individuals, medical professionals and healthcare providers.

The Foundation was created with the support of telemedicine experts and major medical institutions in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Conduct.html
Last modified: Tue Aug 4 13:30:40 MET 1998
Author: Health On the Net Foundation; Disclaimer
© Health On the Net Foundation