The European Commission wants to introduce minimum quality standards for Web sites providingadvice on health matters, a European Union official said today.
Concerns about the authenticity of healthcare and pharmaceutical sites have been percolating for years, particularly as more and more consumers head online to research maladies and cures. Thousands of professional and amateur sites have appeared to field their questions.
A common EU standard would reinforce consumer protection for increasingly popular medical Web sites. It comes as the EU is drawing up legislation to define exactly how far pharmaceuticalcompanies are allowed to communicate with patients.
"Health services rank amongst the top five most frequently used websites in the Internet world," the source told reporters.
"There is a need to have minimum quality standards to ensure that the services provided are sound. The Commission wants to make sure those providing health recommendations in the backoffice are OK," the source said.
The European Union has no plans to go down the road of direct-to-consumer advertising, which has triggered a proliferation of TV drug adverts in the United States.
But it has proposed a five-year pilot scheme under which firms could provide information to patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, asthma and diabetes.