Contact: Scott Matthews, MD
Phone: (619) 497-6663
Email: scmatthews@ucsd.edu
Embargoed until: March 16, 2002

BARCELONA, SPAIN-- Like millions of others, you may have used the Internet as a source of medical information. Researchers found that four questions were effective in identifying "red flags" of questionably accurate Internet sites.

In a study, conducted by researchers at the University of California San Diego Department of Psychiatry, all Internet sites with no red flags provided scientifically accurate information including links to scientific organizations. In comparison, sites with at least one red flag provided a large amount of vague and inaccurate information. These results were presented for the first time at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, held March 13-16 in Barcelona, Spain.

"There is a staggering amount of medical misinformation on the Internet. Since online information is often unregulated and of questionable accuracy, it may be advisable to use this simple screening technique in order to identify sites that are most useful," said Scott C. Matthews, M.D., lead investigator for the study.

The authors searched the Internet for information regarding an herbal medication that is commonly used as a complementary/alternative cancer treatment. The following questions were employed on each site: 1. Was online purchasing permitted? 2. Were "patient testimonials" available? 3. Was the treatment described as a "cancer cure"? 4. Was the treatment described as "having no side effects"? A "yes" answer to any of these questions was deemed a red flag.

# # #