Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Leading health information website www.patient.co.uk has been certified as a quality provider of health and social care information by The Information Standard – a new certification scheme for health and social care information.

The website has demonstrated it has the necessary processes and systems to ensure its information meets the rigorous quality criteria of The Information Standard. www.patient.co.uk has consequently been awarded The Information Standard quality mark, which it can display on its information materials as a mark of quality and reassurance for the public.

The majority of the general public (71%)^* feels overwhelmed by the health and social care information available to them. The Information Standard was launched by the Department of Health as an initiative to give the public a quick way of identifying good quality health and social care information, and to drive up standards amongst producers.

Dr Angela Coulter, Director of Global Initiatives at the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, who advises on the scheme, said: "Organisations that gain Information Standard certification are demonstrating a strong commitment to producing high quality information that people can rely on. They should be congratulated for their important contribution to patient and public empowerment in health and social care."

Dr Gordon Brooks, joint editor of www.patient.co.uk, said: “We welcome this accreditation system, which provides a much-needed quality mark to help the public find authoritative health information on the internet.”

“To receive the accreditation is a welcome endorsement of the rigorous systems and processes that underpin every piece of information we post on the site.”

There are more than 50,000 organisations producing health and social care information in England. Any of these can apply to join the scheme and become certified, whether they are a public sector organisation (NHS or local authority), a voluntary sector organisation, or a commercial company.

^*Omnibus survey of 1,000 adults commissioned by DH and carried out by TNS in March 2007

The Information Standard

The Information Standard is a new certification scheme for the production of health and social care information. Any organisation producing health and/or social care information for the public in England can apply for certification. It is an independently governed, voluntary scheme, supported by the Department of Health and managed by Capita whose role is to apply the standard impartially. Certified organisations have demonstrated that they have the necessary methods and systems to ensure that the information they produce is accessible,accurate, appropriately researched, authoritative, clear, complete, readable, relevant, secure,up-to-date and well-designed. For further information, please visit www.theinformationstandard.org

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