Example of a Written Evaluation

Evaluation of WholeHealthMD.com

WholeHealthMD.com is a health alternative site claiming to provide the best current information available in regard to holistic and non-traditional medicine being combined with conventional healthcare treatments. The site is said to be developed by board-certified doctors and specialists. There are subsections providing recipes, expert opinions, a reference library, and articles on the latest research.

This report will evaluate five American Telemedicine Association criteria for a quality site.

Guideline 1: The site must be sponsored by a reputable healthcare organization and provide objective material.

Objective met: WholeHealthMD is affiliated with Healthways, an organization accredited by the URAC (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission) and the NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance). (Healthways, 2012)

Guideline 2: Information sources must be clearly documented.

Objective met: The reference section of the website has a list of treatments, therapies, supplements, and herbal remedies that a consumer can read information on. Each treatment has a detailed explanation of benefits and cautions, followed by several references of where the information comes from.

Guideline 3: Diagnosis and suggested treatments avoid direct sales of certain products and/or medications.

Objective met: No product offerings are visible on the site. No advertisements for any brands or companies are present.

Guideline 4: Medical professionals must be fully licensed and their credentials clearly posted.

Objective met: Over a dozen medical professionals are listed under the “Meet Our Team” webpage, providing information on where they obtained their degrees, what their specialties are, and other related achievements (WholeHealthMD, 2012).

Guideline 5: Policies and procedures must be clearly posted in regard to patient privacy and record maintenance.

Objective met: A tab for the privacy policy is clearly visible. WholeHealthMD does not keep records or give medical advice as a substitute for seeing a personal physician. Any personal health information given by the consumer to WholeHealthMD will be held in confidentiality.

Due to the abundance of information on the Internet, some of it very good, but much of it subjective and inaccurate, it is imperative that consumers carefully review healthcare related websites before using the information. As noted by Blair, “Without such critical analysis, use of the internet for accessing health information could be detrimental” (Blair, 2005). It would helpful to consumers if a quality seal of assurance label could be placed on websites that have been peer-reviewed and approved; however, until that time consumers must be wise and always consult their personal physician before treating their own illnesses with information obtained over the internet.

No recommendations for improvement are being given at this time as WholeHealthMD appears to meet all the criteria suggested by the ATA.

References

American Telemedicince Association. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.americantelemed.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3311

Blair, J. (2005).  Assessing the Value of the Internet in Health Improvement.  Retrieved from http://www.intellectualdisability.info/changing-values/assessing-the-value-of-the-internet-in-health-improvement

Healthways. (2012). Accreditations. Retrieved from http://www.healthways.com/about/default.aspx?id=72

WholeHealthMD.com. (2012). Meet Our Team. Retrieved from http://www.wholehealthmd.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=2188C8978B0049FEA48FFD69D8350AF6&nm=Meet+Our+Team&type=AWHN_Team&mod=Home&tier=1