Helping to give health advice you can trust
From magazines to the internet, health information has never been more readily available.
But how do you know what you are reading is trustworthy?
The Department of Health (DoH) is embarking on a project to help guide the public to the most reliable sources and has asked Bupa to help.
Bupa is to test a new information accreditation scheme and become one of its first members when it is launched in 2009.
It is one of 40 companies selected from more than 120 organisations to help develop and pilot the scheme and one of only five from the private sector.
Feedback from medical experts and patients will also be used to inform the accreditation process. Organisations which meet the standard will be awarded a kitemark (the standard certification symbol) highlighting it as a trustworthy source.
Dr Annabel Bentley, Bupa's Assistant Medical Director and a member of the DoH expert working group for the accreditation scheme, said:
"When people see the kitemark they will know the information can be trusted. It will also help doctors to direct their patients to reliable information sources.
"There is so much health information available that it can be bewildering for people to judge which advice is reliable.
"The internet is a brilliant resource, but there is no independent watchdog so it can be potentially dangerous for people to trust it completely for medical guidance.
"We take the quality of the information we publish very seriously. The health information section of Bupa's website has more than 1.2 million visits each month."
For reliable health information members have access to the Bupa HealthLine service by calling 0845 601 3216 where you can speak to a team of expert nurses or view here for more health information.