CONSUMER REPORTS WEBWATCH RATES 20 MOST-TRAFFICKED HEALTH INFORMATION WEB SITES
Ratings to be Released at “Trust or Consequence” Conference Next Week in Berkeley, CA
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YONKERS, NY, June 2, 2005: On June 9, consumers searching for credible and trustworthy health information can turn to Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Health Improvement Institute’s ratings of the 20 most-trafficked health information Web sites. The ratings will be released at the free one-day “Trust or Consequence” conference held at the Claremont Resort & Spa in Berkeley, California. All are welcome to attend the conference by registering at: http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/conferences-search-engines.cfm. Reporters, health professionals and interested consumers unable to attend the conference will have access to the rankings on June 10 at 8 a.m. EST.
Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Health Improvement Institute researched and rated the most-trafficked sites based on nine different attributes including identity, advertising & sponsorship disclosure, ease of use, privacy, coverage, design, accessibility and content to produce an overall rating. The ratings will reveal issues critical to consumers and health industry professionals. The top 20 sites, according to Nielsen/NetRatings data, are:
| WebMD |
Drugs.com |
Healthology.com |
| National Institutes of Health |
Aetna Intelihealth |
iVillage Health |
| Yahoo! Health |
Pfizer |
MedScape |
| About Health and Fitness |
RealAge |
Heartcenteronline.com |
| Mayo Clinic |
Kidshealth.org |
Healthboards.com |
| Medicinenet.com |
RxList |
HealthSquare |
| EMedicine.com |
QualityHealth |
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“These unbiased, detailed ratings will help consumers determine which health Web sites are trustworthy sources of information,” said Beau Brendler, Consumer Reports WebWatch director. “The ratings are based on our own experience, and on established criteria for health information quality, and are performed by trained raters and health care professionals.”
To learn more about this free conference, speakers, agenda, and to register, go to: http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/conferences-search-engines.cfm
The June 9th WebWatch conference brings together health information industry leaders to discuss the importance of trust and credibility on the Web, including speakers from Consumers Union, eHealth Institute, Health Improvement Institute, QuackWatch, The Mayo Clinic, WebMD, World Privacy Forum and more. Unlike any other conference, Trust or Consequence is intimate enough to allow access to decision makers and provide insight into the workings of the Web’s most influential health sites.
Attendance at the conference is free but you must register by June 6th to attend. To guarantee your spot, register now at https://wwevents.org/?form=searchhealthreg
About Consumer Reports WebWatch
Consumer Reports WebWatch is the leader in investigative reporting on trust and credibility in the online marketplace. WebWatch uses the proven methods of Consumer Reports to produce comprehensive research, breakthrough conferences and serves as a daily resource of unbiased and trustworthy information. Its research agenda includes entire online marketplaces, such as travel, search, health, financial services and more. WebWatch is a project of Consumers Union and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Open Society Institute. WebWatch's investigative reports, articles and news are available to the general public at http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/
About Consumers Union
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, CU accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. CU supports itself through the sale of its information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants. Consumer Reports content can be found online at ConsumerReports.org. Consumers Union's public policy work can be found online at ConsumersUnion.org.
About Health Improvement Institute
Health Improvement Institute is a non?profit, tax exempt, 501(c)3, charitable organization dedicated to improving the quality and productivity of America's health care. The Institute's principal program objective it to provide information to enable people to make informed health care choices. The Institute has established expertise in evaluating the quality of health information on the Internet, conducts forms and workshops, and sponsors national awards programs to recognize excellence, including the Aesculapius Award for excellence in health communication. For more information, visit www.hii.org.
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