Did you know that the ICA's website is Health on the Net (HON) certified?

The Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and health websites addresses one of the internet's main healthcare issues: the reliability and credibility of information on websites.

The internet has become one of the most widely-used communications media tools, and anyone can set up a website, publish any data, and make it accessible to all. The challenge is no longer finding health information online -- but locating a credible publisher who offers relevant and accurate information.

The Health On the Net Foundation established the Code of Conduct to help standardize the reliability of medical and health information available on the World Wide Web by:

• holding website developers to basic ethical standards in the presentation of information
• helping make sure readers always know the source and the purpose of the data they are reading

The HONcode aims to raise the quality of healthcare information available on the net. It is a voluntary certification system based on an "active seal" concept. While primarily intended for healthcare sites, the blue-and-red HONcode seal on subscribing sites also helps you identify sources of reliable information. It addresses, among other things, the authority of the information provided, data confidentiality and privacy, proper attribution of sources, transparency of financial sponsorship, and the importance of clearly separating advertising from editorial content.