title: Patient Education Corner. Accessing and evaluating the Internet for patient and family education.
abstract: In the last decade, the Internet has become a vast resource for healthcare information. Multiple Web sites, produced by the federal government, healthcare institutions, and individual healthcare providers, give Americans a wealth of useful information sources. Nurses recognize that more Americans than ever before are using the Internet and that nurses are in an excellent position to help patients learn how to search for healthcare topics and evaluate the information found. This article will focus on seeking information, judging the quality of the information, and listing specific Web sites.
authors.affiliation: Acute Rehabilitation Unit, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn Crane
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Cutilli
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising; D001319:Authorship; D032781:Codes of Ethics; D003200:Computer User Training; D003219:Confidentiality; D004181:Directories as Topic; D035081:Editorial Policies; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods; D020407:Internet / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015871:Scientific Misconduct