title: Evaluating the quality of Internet information for femoroacetabular impingement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Internet has become a ubiquitous source of medical information for both the patient and the physician. However, the quality of this information is highly variable. We evaluated the quality of Internet information available for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Four popular search engines were used to collect 100 Web sites containing information on FAI. Web sites were evaluated based on authorship, various content criteria, and the presence of Health On the Net Code of Conduct (HONcode) certification. By use of a novel evaluation system for quality, Web sites were also classified as excellent, high, moderate, poor, or inadequate and were subsequently analyzed. Web sites were evaluated as a group, followed by authorship type, by HONcode certification, and by quality level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the Web sites, 73 offered the ability to contact the author, 91 offered a considerable explanation of FAI, 54 provided surgical treatment options, 58 offered nonsurgical treatment options, 27 discussed possible complications, 11 discussed eligibility criteria, 31 discussed rehabilitation, 67 discussed a differential diagnosis, and 48 included peer-reviewed citations. We categorized 40 Web sites as academic, 33 as private, 9 as industry, 9 as public education, and 9 as blogs. Our novel quality evaluation system classified 16 Web sites as excellent, 18 as high, 17 as moderate, 18 as poor, and 31 as inadequate. Only 8% of all evaluated Web sites contained HONcode certification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that the quality of information available on the Internet about FAI was dramatically variable. A significantly large proportion of Web sites were from academic sources, but this did not necessarily indicate higher quality. Sites with HONcode certification showed as much variability in quality as noncertified sites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study increases clinician competence in the available Internet information about FAI and helps them to confidently guide patients to formulate appropriate medical decisions based on high-quality information.
authors.affiliation: Hip Preservation Center, Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Rush Medical College of Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Hip Preservation Center, Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Rush Medical College of Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Jason J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Hip Preservation Center, Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Rush Medical College of Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Marc S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Haro
authors.affiliation: Hip Preservation Center, Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Rush Medical College of Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Sang H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Hip Preservation Center, Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Rush Medical College of Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.. Electronic address: shane.nho@rushortho.com.
authors.forename: Shane J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Nho
mesh_terms: D001319:Authorship; D057925:Femoracetabular Impingement; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D020407:Internet