Code For Sites On Health Gets Support

Healtheon/WebMD India Ltd on Friday announced its support for the ethical operating principles developed by Hi-Ethics, a coalition of 20 of the most widely used Internet health sites and content providers.

The principles set standards that member organisations will follow, to help consumers confidently realise the benefits of the Internet as a means for improving their health and that of their families. Healtheon/WebMD and other Hi-Ethics member companies commit to be fully compliant with the principles by November 1, 2000.

Healtheon/WebMD, with other healthcare websites, will be among the first companies to develop industry-led ethical standards and privacy protections for users of popular health sites.

 

The guidelines also require that online sites plainly mark advertising as such. This would help inform consumers, for example, that a section of a medical website devoted to treating asthma in sponsored by a company that produces asthma medications.

The Hi-Ethics group is using a " chain of trust" policy to bind all third parties and advertisers to each company's privacy agreements.

According to Healtheon/WebMD director Lav Nigam, "Strong, enforcable privacy policies that bind everyone who does business with that site will go a long way towards bolstering consumer trust."