J Womens Health. 1997 Oct; 6(5): 575-81.

The quality of information on women's health on the Internet.

Wootton JC.

Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA.

The World Wide Web is an excellent information resource for professionals and the public to gain clinical knowledge. Internet technology has changed the way we perceive and present data because of the speed with which complex data manipulations are now possible and the vast quantities of data involved. The need for current, comprehensive data gave rise to a prevailing tradition of clear, factual, and impartial information resources on the Internet. Most arguments in favor of regulating and restricting the information that is accessible to patients underestimate the power of the new health care consumers and fail to distinguish between quality of information and quality of knowledge.