Expertise online Finding reliable information.(Health)(Buyers Guide)

Some 95 million Americans have turned to the Internet for health information, according to a May 2005 report by the nonprofit Pew Internet & American Life Project in Washington, D.C.

On a typical day, more U.S. adults use the Internet than go to a physician, the Pew project reported from a 2002 national phone survey of 500 online health seekers. Sixty-one percent of respondents said the Internet had improved the way they cared for themselves. Two percent said they knew someone who had been harmed by online health information.

How do you find accurate health information online? Studies conducted up until 2002 found that from 20 percent to 90 percent of health information on the Internet was incomplete or inaccurate. Experts say there's no reason to think that's changed much.

To help you navigate, Consumer Reports WebWatch, a project of Consumers Union, publisher of this magazine, worked with the Health Improvement Institute, a nonprofit group based in Bethesda, Md. The groups rated the 20 health information Web sites with the most visitors, according to the Internet research company Nielsen//NetRatings.

All rated Web sites got top marks for disclosing their use of visitors' personal information. Most sites rated excellent by CR WebWatch were more likely than other sites to post correct, current health information. Because of the large amounts of data, content could not be evaluated in depth.

The Ratings are based on analysis through June 9, 2005 Since Web sites frequently change their content or might revise their policies, CR WebWatch will update the Ratings in the future.

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