HONcode
The HONcode is a code of conduct for medical and health Web sites issued by the Health On the Net Foundation. It addresses the crucial issues of the reliability and credibility of medical information on the Internet. It is not designed to rate the veracity of the information provided by a Web site. Rather, the code only states that the site holds to the standards, so that readers can know the source and purpose of the medical information presented.
The principles of the HONcode are:
- Authority - information and advice given only by medical professionals, or a clear statement if this is not the case
- Complementarity - information and help are to support, not replace, patient-healthcare professional relationships which is the desired means of contact
- Confidentiality
- Attribution - references to source of information (URL if available online)
- Justifiability - any treatment, product or service must be supported by balanced, well-referenced scientific information
- Transparency of authorship - contact information, preferably including email addresses, of authors should be available
- Transparency of sponsorship
- Honesty in advertising and editorial policy
Please note: By the nature of Wikipedia and current Wikipedia policy, medical articles on all Wikipedias cannot comply with all HON principles. Examples of authoritative health/medical web sites include those operated by universities, hospitals and government agencies. Many of these and other sites, such as online support groups run by survivors or patients, have been HONcode accredited and can be identified by the HONcode logo.