According to a 2013 study by Kantar Media, 87% of internet users in the US looked up health and wellness information online in 2012. A previous Kantar survey found that the types of websites consumers used for health information and the reasons for doing research online were influenced by several factors, including:
- Stage and condition they’re experiencing
- Ailment type
- Age
- Gender
When you go online to learn more about health care, it’s important that you know who is behind the websites you visit.
Some Facts About Drug Company-Funded Websites
Health websites are often funded by drug companies. Mental health websites owned or funded by drug companies tend to overemphasize biogentic causes and medical models of mental health, according to a literature review performed by the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. This review concluded that mental health practitioners should be encouraged to inform patients about potential bias from drug company-funded websites and recommend websites that present a wider range of evidence-based information concerning causes and treatments. For mental health websites, the study concluded, “Drug company–funded websites were more biased than non-drug-company-funded sites, and cannot be considered an objective source of mental health information, for the public or practitioners.”
How to Identify Drug Company-Funded Websites
Reliable health-related websites should make it clear who is responsible for the website and its information. Every major page should identify the site owner and provide a link to the site owner’s website (if other than the site’s own homepage). The source of a website’s funding should also be readily apparent. If a site’s URL ends in .gov, it’s a government sponsored website, and if it ends in .edu, it’s the site of an educational institution. Commercial websites end in .com, while noncommercial organization websites end in .org. If the source of funding for a website is unclear, you should try to confirm the information elsewhere. The “About This Site” page should give you a clear statement of purpose and help you evaluate how trustworthy it is.
Know That You’re Not Getting the Complete Picture
There’s nothing wrong with visiting drug company-funded websites as long as you understand that you may not be getting the complete picture with respect to the health condition you’re studying. If you get information from a drug company-funded website, look up the same information on other websites as well and note who runs those websites. With health information, it’s important to get more than one point of view about a condition or its treatment.
Consumer-Focused Health Websites
Consumer-focused health websites are run by major medical centers, government entities, or health businesses that aren’t allied to one specific drug manufacturer. These are great starting places for learning more about medical conditions. Currently, the top 10 consumer-oriented medical websites are:
- Yahoo! Health
- NIH (the National Institutes of Health)
- WebMD
- MedicineNet
- Drugs.com
- everydayHealth
- MedHelp
- HealthGrades
- RealAge
When you purchase products from respected medical facilitators like eDrugstore.com, you can be certain that they are not associated with any one particular drug manufacturer. The products on sites like eDrugstore.com are carefully curated from several respected pharmaceutical manufacturers, yet the site overall does not toe the corporate line for any of these manufacturers.
For example, you can now purchase the erectile dysfunction (ED) drug Viagra directly from Pfizer, its manufacturer. This is good, because it may keep consumers away from dangerous drug counterfeiters, but you won’t get information on all your ED options if you only visit Pfizer’s site. With non drug company-funded sites like eDrugstore.com, you can evaluate your options more thoroughly before buying.
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