Reliable health information

A guide to reliable health information on the internet

There is a vast amount of information and advice about health matters on the internet (it's estimated that one in 15 searches on the internet is about health). But how do you know if you can trust your source? How do you ensure you steer clear of information and advice that is out-of-date, or misleading or biased (perhaps funded by organisations which have a particular agenda), or incorrect?

Health information

A good starting point is the official NHS website (previously known as NHS Choices) https://www.nhs.uk/ and just browse or use its search engine.

Another reliable UK website, used by many GPs, is https://patient.info/ (previously known as www.patient.co.uk). This is written by doctors, reviewed and updated. Again just browse or use its search engine.

One of the best international health websites (from the USA) which some medical experts recommend is https://www.webmd.com/.

For children's health, a recommended website is https://kidshealth.org/.

The NHS 111 service offers a symptom checker at https://111.nhs.uk/, and this operates in conjunction with the NHS 111 telephone service. On the patient.info website the symptom checker is at https://patient.info/signs-symptoms. Symptom checkers may be useful although a survey in the BMJ says that they are only correct for about a third of the time! Details are at https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3480 if you want to know more.

One variation is to try typing symptoms in Google or other search engine, and add “systematic review”. Another option is to use the Google Scholar search engine.

Specific conditions

For information and advice on specific conditions, again you could start with the NHS website using its A-Z guide or its search engine - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/. On the patient.info website the list of topics (which allows you to drill down into specific conditions) is at https://patient.info/health.

Another variation is to type in your condition into Google or other search engine, and add “evidence-based practice” and “patient information”. Another route is to type in “clinical knowledge summaries” which are used by GPs and produced by the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) (more details below),

Local hospitals also publish a number of very useful information booklets which you can usually read and download as documents in the form of PDFs. For example our local Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust has a selection at https://www.rdehospital.nhs.uk/patients/patient-information-leaflets.html.

The various UK medical charities have a great deal of information and advice about specific conditions and the support that is available, and you can find their websites through Google or other search engines. For example some of the most well known are:

Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie, Prostate Cancer UK, Breast Cancer Now, Bowel Cancer UK, British Heart Foundation, Stroke Association, Diabetes UK, RNIB, Action on Hearing Loss, Versus Arthritis, Parkinson's UK, Royal Osteoporosis Society, MIND, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society, Age UK (Health & Well- being section), St John Ambulance and British Red Cross.

Patient experience

To find out more about patient experiences relating to a wide selection of conditions and treatments, a recommended website is Health Talk online. You can find information and support for a range of health issues by seeing and hearing people's real life experiences through a series videos of people with various conditions, and can be really helpful. It’s at http://www.healthtalk.org/.

Medicines

For information and advice on medicines, you could again start with the NHS website - https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/.

The British National Formulary is used by health professionals throughout the NHS and is available online to everyone. The website is https://bnf.nice.org.uk/. There you’ll find comprehensive details of medicines prescribing with sections on drugs, interactions and treatment summaries.

Another recommended website (from the USA) is https://www.drugs.com/ which gives helpful information on interactions and side effects.

The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority has a useful website - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency - and also has a “yellow card” alert system. Or you could try typing in “safety alerts” next to the medicine on a Google or other search engine.

Other reliable sources

• Inside Health: an excellent radio and podcasts series on BBC Radio 4 covering a great range of health subjects (with more details of how to use the internet for health in the four programmes broadcast in July 2019). Search for “Inside Health “ on the BBC Sounds app, or this link gives access to all previously broadcast episodes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019dl1b/episodes/player. Downloadable mp3 podcasts of the programmes are at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019dl1b/episodes/downloads.
• All in the Mind: another excellent radio and podcast series on BBC Radio 4 on all aspects of mental health. Search for “All in the Mind” on the BBC Sounds app, or go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxx9/episodes/guide. Downloadable mp3 podcasts of the programmes are at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxx9/episodes/downloads.
• National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE), for guidance, advice, quality standards and information services on health, public health and social care. Also contains resources to help maximise use of evidence and guidance. See https://www.nice.org.uk/.
• Living Well Devon: Here you can learn how to improve your health and make lifestyle changes based on clinical evidence, with local events and useful resources. See https://www.livingwelldevon.co.uk/.
• Healthwatch Devon: “Healthwatch Devon is the independent champion for people using health and care services. We listen to what people like about services and what could be improved and share those views with those with the power to make change happen.” See https://healthwatchdevon.co.uk/.
• Dr Rangan Chatterjee - you may have seen him in the BBC TV series “Doctor in the House”. He has published several books, and his website is very good with many interesting blogs and podcasts. See https://drchatterjee.com/.

This topic is also available as a PDF which you can see and download by clicking on the image below at the bottom of this webpage, or via this link.