New UK health information websites
At the beginning of 2000 we are seeing a rash of new health sites for the public on the Internet. This issue of Resources Reviews provides an overview of the main generalist sites in the UK.
NHS Direct Online
The Government’s NHS Direct Online service ( www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) was launched by the Prime Minister in December 1999 to considerable media coverage. On the first day 1.5 million hits were recorded, with current use levelling off at around 100 000 hits a day. NHS Direct Online is a combination of NHS produced content (including Healthy Living, Health in the News and About NHS Direct) and gateways to existing websites on Conditions and Treatments which have been quality appraised and star rated. The section of the site which has received the most comment is the interactive Healthcare Guide which allows users to identify common health problems and treat them using appropriate self care at home.
NHS Direct Online is now commencing a two‐year development programme based on increasing content, increasing access opportunities, and increasing interactivity. We can expect to see increasing use of digital TV, public kiosks and mobile phones as methods of access. More information should be available in audio format and in languages other than English. Interactivity developments will include chat rooms, e‐mail enquiries and personalization.
Net Doctor
Net Doctor ( www.NetDoctor.co.u) is probably the most comprehensive in a series of new UK commercial sites including Health In Focus, Surgery Door, and UK Health Centre (and one of several claiming to be ‘the UK’s leading health information site’). It has an impressive array of content as well as interactive features (discussion groups, on‐line consultations) which the NHS will find less easy to provide, at least in the short term.
Net Doctor is largely written by a panel of experts so that individual condition information usually comes from one or two practitioners. There are biographical notes but, of course, we cannot be sure that this particular doctor’s knowledge is current and evidence‐based. Other than the authored clinical content, the origin of most of the information (e.g. medicines data‐ base, directories of hospitals and health authorities) is not clear. There is a weekly online consultation with media doctor Dr Hilary Jones which is likely to prove popular and has already attracted media interest.
Although the site is not currently very heavily sponsored or carrying much advertising this is clearly the method by which the site will be funded. Options include banner advertising on home pages and content sponsorship, down to advertising on individual patient ‘factsheets’.
Surgery Door
Surgery Door ( www.surgerydoor.co.uk) is another of the recently launched UK sites. Developed by the team behind the In Touch With Health public touch screen kiosks, it has 60 sections with more than 5000 core pages, details of local health services, an on‐line pharmacy and a ‘resident’ doctor, GP and media doctor Dr Mark Porter.
The site currently (February 2000) looks unfinished with some of the links not yet operational. It also uses frames and has a lot of graphics to download, meaning it can be slow to load and use.
Health In Focus
Health In Focus ( www.healthinfocus.co.uk) is part of the medical publishing group Medicom and has the involvement of a number of patient organizations. There are a number of interactive features including surveys with online voting, chat groups with transcripts of earlier sessions, an online doctor and an ‘online fitness trainer’. The site delivers a lot of content partly through links to other sites. For example there is a link to the NHS Direct Healthcare Guide (wrongly titled as the ‘NHS Direct Symptom Guide’). Health In Focus makes it clear that it takes no responsibility for sites to which it links. This includes the online doctor on the separately hosted Care4Free site, which might make some users uneasy about sharing their personal symptoms via e‐mail to Dr Sylvio Tamin.
UK Health Centre and Medinfo
There are also an increasing number of sites set up by local GPs. UK Health Centre ( www.healthcentre.org.uk) has been developed by a Yorkshire GP along the principle of a series of virtual rooms in a health centre (reception, library, shop, clinic, staff room, etc.). However the concept is not really carried through into the execution. Rather than being the virtual building expected, it is almost entirely text‐based with a homemade feel to it. UK Health Centre believes that UK‐sourced information is likely to be of most interest to the UK public, and so there are links to 3750 UK sites. Message boards are provided via a link to HealthBoards.com which has 80 online health communities. The Health Centre Shop offers access to online bookselling, herbal medicines, finance and second‐hand cars.
Another GP originated site (this time from a Salisbury‐based doctor) is Medinfo ( www.medinfo.co.uk). This also has a low tech, text‐based appearance but has links to a number of patient organization sites as well as original patient information content.
BBC Health and Fitness
Finally BBC Health & Fitness ( www.bbc.co.uk/health) contains a wide array of independent, high‐quality health information, with a daily feed from BBC News for up‐to‐date information on the latest health developments. The site allows you to monitor upcoming BBC health programmes (from soaps through to specialist documentaries) and to register for both a weekly health newsletter and for details of all forthcoming BBC health‐related broadcasts. Online voting, quizzes and discussion forums – such as Fighting Fat, Fighting Fit and Kick the Habit – provide users with varying degrees of interactivity. The site also encourages visitors to comment on the site and to identify their own favourite health websites.
Edited by Bob Gann