Денсаулық ақпаратын сертификациялайтын ұйымның тарихы мен тоқтатылуы

Nonprofit organization that certifies online medical information

Health On the Net Foundation (HON) was a Swiss not for profit organization based in Geneva which promoted a code of conduct for websites providing health information and offered certificates to those in compliance. In September 2022, Health On the Net website pages included the advisory text "HON is no longer updated and will be permanently discontinued on December 15, 2022. Despite all our efforts, it is no longer possible to maintain it. We thank you for your understanding." As of March 2024, their domain names are unactive.

In 1995, 60 participants at an international health conference agreed to form a permanent body to promote the dissemination of accurate health information through technology. Health On the Net was founded under the auspices of the Geneva Department of Employment, Social Affairs and Health. It holds consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and a special relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO). The French National Health Authority appointed Health On the Net in 2007 as its official body to certify health websites based in France. As a "Liaison A" to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Health Informatics Technical Committee (ISO/TC 215), Health On the Net contributes to the elaboration of standards developed by the committee. Health On the Net offered an array of tools and services, including the HON Code of Conduct and its certification process; the Khresmoi and HONselect search engines; Provisu. ch, a database of health information on eye diseases, accessible by those with poor or no vision; and Santeromande. ch, a database directed towards French speakers in Switzerland and France, providing health information and a directory of registered health professionals and organisations.

The HONcode only applied to a website's editorial processes and details, not to the actual published contents. The term "certification" can be misleading to the general public, as it can imply that the contents of the website are trustworthy, reliable or otherwise independent. However, because the certification process is based on both self declaration of adherence to the principles and assessment by a HONcode expert verifying that this is the case, it is not possible for a site to be initially certified if it does not meet the HONcode principles. However, it was possible for a certified site to change its content such that it no longer meets the certification criteria. While website owners are required to inform HON of any fundamental changes to their website during periods between certification and recertification, this is not always the case. Thus a site may be listed as certified when it no longer is. This is addressed at latest during the recertification process, or earlier if HON is notified that the site no longer meets certification standards. The HONcode is considered a useful guide and for some it provides the best overall guidance compared to other tools, but in the end the reliability of the information is also dependent on the information provider. The HONcode principles themselves are subject to criticism, with some experts indicating they are not adapted to modern Internet usages and do not follow their own rules. In response to those limitations, one previously certified website has decided to no longer display the Health On the Net logo. Yet greater awareness of the HONcode and its certification process was needed, with the authors of one study highlighting the need “to broadcast the relevance of HON certification so that creditable medical health information could be published online”.

In 2000, a journal article raised a number of problems with the HONcode logo, indicating that consumers may mistake it as an award or interpret it as an indicator for assessed information. Other issues with the HONcode logo were discussed in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, a peer reviewed eHealth journal. leading to a page on HON servers with the date of the certification's validity and the status of certification in real time, the link from websites will lead to the page showing that the site is no longer in compliance (i. e., that it is either being reassessed or the certification has been revoked). This is indicated in real time. It is, however, possible for the site to retain the logo without the click through. Thus, users should be aware that if the seal is not clickable, the site is no longer in compliance and is misusing the logo. Consumer protection advocate Stephen Barrett has been a strong supporter of the HONcode and has made efforts to improve compliance with its rules and to expose those who misuse it. A 2004 special supplement to The Washington Post provides coverage of his views on the subject, including suggested improvements and his criticisms of many named misusers. The HONcode relies on noncompliance being reported by consumers. In cases of suspected fraudulent websites or of misuse of the HONcode, HON advises internet users to alert Quackwatch or HON itself through the complaint mechanism on the HON website: "If you come across a healthcare Web site that you believe is either possibly or blatantly fraudulent and does NOT display the HONcode, please alert Quackwatch. Of course, if such a site DOES display the HONcode, alert us immediately." Other problems with the application of the HONcode principles are that HON does not have a means of verifying many of the principles, such as credentials (medical or otherwise) as stated on websites displaying the logo, or that copyright or confidentiality is not violated by webmasters.