Web accreditation program promotes accountability
February 1, 2002
Web accreditation program promotes accountability
URAC accredits 13 e-health sites
Do you know where to turn when your clients ask you to suggest a health care web site about their condition?
When they bring up information they’ve found on an Internet site, do you know whether it’s reliable or not? Finding the right Internet site for your clients may be easier now that Washington, DC-based American Accreditation Healthcare Commission (URAC), a leader in accreditation of health and managed care organizations, has issued accreditation for 13 medical web sites.
The web sites, which include some of the nation’s largest and busiest, received accreditation under a program that measured them against rigorous standards for quality and accountability. URAC also announced another 15 web sites have begun the process of seeking accreditation, or have committed to doing so. The accreditation program is a major step forward for consumers, says Garry Carneal, URAC president and CEO.
"URAC accreditation provides them with an important tool to identify health web sites that meet tough standards for quality," Carneal adds. He cites a study by Pew Internet, which shows that 48% of all Internet users who have gone on-line for medical information believe the advice they found on the web improved the way they take care of themselves. About 41% of respondents in the same survey say that the information they found on-line influenced a major medical decision.
The URAC Health Web Site Accreditation Program Standards, released on July 30, are based in part on a 14-point set of principles by Hi-Ethics, a coalition of the most widely used Internet health sites and content providers. Standards include consumer protection, including privacy, security, quality of information, fairness of transactions, and professional conduct.
Other issues covered by the standards include the health content editorial process, disclosure of financial relationships, links to other web sites, and mechanisms for consumer complaints.
"By building on the efforts of Internet quality leaders, the URAC Accreditation Program is undoubtedly the best and clearest way for health web sites to demonstrate their compliance with ethical standards," says Michael Rozen, MD, president of Hi-Ethics.
The standards were developed through a process that encouraged broad-based input from numerous stakeholder groups, including consumers, regulators, health care providers, health care organizations, and insurers.
URAC Accredited Web Sites
• A.D.A.M. Inc. — www.adam.com
• American Specialty Health Networks (ASHN) — www.healthyroads.com
• Group Health Inc. — www.GHI.com
• HAYES Inc. — www.hayesonhealth.com
• Health Insurance Association of America —www.hiaa.org
• Health International — www.health-intl.com
• HealthHelp — www.hhni.com
• Healthwise Inc. — www.healthwise.org
• InteliHealth — www.intelihealth.com
• Veritas Medicine — www.veritasmedicine.com
• VHA Inc. — www.LaurusHealth.com
• WellMed Inc. — www.wellmed.com
• WebMD — www.webmd.com