Looking for health information online can be overwhelming and confusing. Since 1997, healthfinder.gov has been sharing reliable health information with health professionals and consumers. As part of this work, they have developed criteria for websites they will link to from healthfinder.gov. These guidelines reflect quality standards that are a part of Healthy People 2020 and the Health Communication and Health Information Technology objectives.

You can use these quality guidelines to figure out which health websites are credible and reliable. Here are some good signs that information on a website is credible, according to healthfinder.gov:

• The names of the site developers, sponsors, partners, and funding sources are clearly noted.
• The purpose of the site and its intended audiences are clearly stated.
• “Advertisement” labels clearly identify and separate ads from health information.
• The site includes information about the sources, editors, and expert reviewers of the content.

Finding reliable websites with credible content is an important first step in accessing and acting on the health information we need. Share the healthfinder.gov Quality Guidelines today.