COM340

Evaluation of a Health-Related Website

 

In July 1999, The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) issued the following advice to consumers who use the Internet for health-related information and services. ATA’s criteria for a quality site include the following (“Advisories” 2–3):

• The site is sponsored by a reputable healthcare organization (American Cancer Society, American Medical Association, nationally recognized medical college, or the like). Information from a commercial interest such as a drug company should include assurances that the material is reasonable, balanced, and objective and does not merely promote the company’s own products.
• Each information source is clearly documented.
• A site providing online diagnosis or prescribing treatment and medication avoids any direct sales of the treatments or medications being prescribed.
• The professionals offering medical consultation are fully licensed and their credentials are clearly posted.
• The site clearly describes its policies and procedures for maintaining records of the consultation and safeguarding patient privacy.

Visit a health-related Website and evaluate it according to the above criteria. Focus on sites that cover alternative health such as as

Alt Medicine

, sites that create specific recommendations based on the information you provide such as

WebMD

, sites that offer specialized consultation about specific medical conditions such as

HealthLine

, or discussion sites for people with a specific medical condition such as the

Cancer Survivors Network

 .

Assume that you are a Website consultant. Based on your reading so far about technical communication and the ATA guidelines above, prepare a numbered list of specific problems you noticed on the Website and a recommendation of how each problem could be corrected. Your list should be approximately one page, single spaced, with a double space between the problem and the solution and a double space before each numbered item. Attach a title page to your list, formatted in proper APA style.