Experts at a Health Improvement Institute workshop on Monday expressed mixed opinions on the potential of using a seal of approval on health information Web sites to instill consumer confidence, Technology Daily/Government Executive reports.
Tom Eng -- president and founder of Healia, a health search engine -- said it would be difficult to put trustmarks on health Web sites, adding that the ratings would have to be "page-specific, rather than just domain-specific."
Jorgen Wouters, senior Web producer at Consumer Reports WebWatch, said that consumers should be able to click on a certification symbol and be linked to a Web page that lists the requirements for earning that certification. However, he noted that sometimes the links do not function, the ratings are outdated or the information is not helpful.
Murray Turoff, information systems professor emeritus at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, said transparency is critical to making the approval seals trustworthy. He added that consumers should be able to see the qualifications of the individual graders that evaluate the site's information.
William Liss-Levinson, vice president and chief strategy and operation officer for Castle Connolly Medical, noted that people interpret the words "trust" and "trustmarks" differently. The meaning often depends on whether the person is a physician, patient or other health care provider, and what level of trust the person is seeking (Sternstein, Government Executive/Technology Daily, 11/12).