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Recent
Updates Regarding the HONcode
On
this page you will find
information about the recent updates related
to the HONcode Certification process. The Health On the Net Foundation
will announce in advance any modifications related to the certification
process.
In
the case that the certified
websites are required to implement the announced modification(s), the
date by which these modifications become valid will be announced
clearly and in a reasonable period of time as to enable certified
websites to implement the modification(s). In addition, during the
audit following the announced modification(s) the HONcode Team will
check the website's compliance to the modification(s) and, if
necessary, will explain how to implement the necessary
modification(s).
In the case that the certified websites do not need to take measures to
implement the modification(s), the date of publication of the
announcement is
also considered the date of implementation.
The updates will also be announced in the HON
Newsletter, in the section "Recent Updates Regarding the HONcode".
New RGPD regulation
(June 2018)
HON Commitment
In line with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) we have updated our
and initiated necessary changes such as the appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and a specific email address
for any questions you may have about data protection to fully ensure that our sites comply with these regulations.
Your engagement
In connection with this, we bring to your attention the fact that your site must comply with this regulation in order to be certified.
Reform of EU data protection rules 2018 :
Swiss link:
French link:
Certification of e-shops
(June 2018)
The HON Foundation has a policy of not certifying sites offering online trade in medicines, medical devices, cosmetics and food.
Indeed, we are currently unable to evaluate all the parameters related to online sales (sales, receipt, after-sales service, quality and product conformity).
Nevertheless, your opinion is essential and could help us frame this type of services in the future.
To help us,
.
Secure access to websites
(June 2018)
Https certificates are required to ensure secure access to websites.
During the certification process, our reviewers therefore ensure that your site meets this criterion, with respect to Principle 3
().
If your site does not yet have an https certificate, we advise you to contact your host and update your security certificate.
New Re-assessment payment process
(August 2014)
For the past 17 years, HON has been the leader in guiding readers to quality
online health information and for all these years, every one of our services have been entirely
free of charge, including certification of new websites, re-evaluation and other verification.
HON has now reached a cross-roads, where we are no longer able to provide the re-evaluation service for
free and thus, a membership fee has been created which will go towards covering the cost of
the re-assessment process which is conducted by a team of medical experts.
New Guideline for Before-after Pictures
(Published on March 28th, 2013)
The Health On the Net Foundation introduces a new guideline designed for
websites presenting before-after pictures, which will be effective from February 5th, 2013.
All HONcode certified websites displaying before-after pictures should implement this guideline
as soon as possible, but at the latest one year after the publication of this guideline.
This guideline aims to provide guidance regarding the publication of before-after
pictures on HONcode certified websites and websites applying for the certification. Please note,
that the initial review of your application takes at least 18 months.
Background According to the results of a survey HON conducted in 2011,
the majority of the 1,365 respondents representing the general public considered before-after pictures
shown on a website suspicious. Nevertheless, the respondents also felt that websites should be able to
display these pictures in order to inform the public, e.g. about the capabilities of and results delivered
by the physicians.1
Objective The before-after pictures fall within the scope of the HONcode Principle 5:
Justification of claims. This new guideline aims to improve the transparency and trustworthiness of publishing
these pictures.
Scope This guideline applies to before-after pictures designed to inform website
users about the services of physicians, excluding before-after pictures used for educational purposes, e.g.
radiology images showing students the results of a particular surgery.
Guideline: Before-after pictures/videos concerning medical treatments
- Both the before and the after picture should be taken in similar circumstances regarding lighting, body and head position, camera settings, etc.
- The pictures should not be edited. Editing is only acceptable when the goal is to protect the identity of the patient, and when the editing does not present the results of the surgery in a misleading way.
- A text should accompany the pictures explaining at least the following points:
- The before and after pictures are taken in similar circumstances
- The dates of when the pictures have been taken
- The date(s) of when the operation(s) have taken place
- The number and type of operation(s) performed
- A statement that the patient shown on the picture has given his/her written
consent to publish the pictures and the accompanying text, i.e. the patient agrees
that the pictures and the accompanying text are true
- A statement that no results can be guaranteed because every patient and every situation is different
N.B. As mentioned, a written consent must be obtained from the patient before publishing the pictures
and the accompanying text. If asked for verification purposes by the Health On the Net Foundation, the organization must
be able to present this written consent.
1) Results of the HON survey conducted in 2011: http://www.hon.ch/Survey/before-after-pics.html
*Reminder: Before/After
Pictures Published on Websites that Provide Information about Medical
Procedures, Including Plastic and Dental Surgery Procedures
*) This reminder becomes obsolete on February 5th, 2013. Regarding before-after pictures/videos concerning medical
treatments, please consult the specific guideline (falling within the scope of the
HONcode Principle 5).
(Original reminder, published on March 27th, 2012)
The Health On the Net Foundation
(HON) is reminding HONcode Certified websites and websites applying for
the Certification of its current policy regarding before/after
pictures.1
In the past, the HON Foundation has certified websites displaying
before/after pictures. But there are some difficulties regarding these
websites’ compliance with the HONcode Principles 5
(Justification) and 8 (Advertising Policy) due to the presence of
before/after pictures.
These difficulties arise from the fact that it is very difficult to
verify whether the pictures have been modified or not, whether all the
pictures have been taken in the same manner (regarding elements such as
lighting, positioning, situation and time), how many procedures have
been performed in order to achieve such a result, what kind of physical
and mental state the person was in before he/she underwent the
procedure, whether a model is featured in the pictures, whether the few
pictures with results that are better have been published while the
majority of the procedures did not have such success, etc. Another
important point to note is that each patient’s results are
individual.
For these reasons, the HON Foundation has conducted a survey which has
pointed out the necessity to develop a guideline concerning the
publication of before/after pictures. The development of this guideline
is still ongoing. This means that until further notice, the approach of
the HON Foundation to websites displaying before/after pictures is the
following:
- HONcode
Certified websites that were already
displaying these pictures are given the choice:
a) To remove the pictures until the guideline has entered into force,
or
b) To clearly provide information concerning the publication of the
pictures, such as the above-mentioned points.
- Websites
applying for the HONcode Certification while
displaying before/after pictures:
a) Are asked to remove the pictures until the guideline has entered
into force, or
b) Will be informed that in the case that they wish to keep the
pictures online, the HON Foundation will not proceed
with the Certification process until the guideline has entered into
force.
If you have any question or
comments, please
don’t hesitate to contact us:
Tel: +41 22 37 26 250
Feedback form: http://services.hon.ch/Contact/contact.pl
Skype: honcode
1) Within the scope of the
HONcode Certification, the Health On the Net Foundation defines
before/after pictures as images taken both before and after a medical
procedure, including dental and plastic surgery procedures.
New
Privacy Policy
(Published on February
16th, 2012)
The
Health On the Net Foundation has published its new Privacy Policy which
will be effective from February 29, 2012. This Privacy Policy applies
to all the websites and services owned and/or managed by HON (unless
indicated otherwise).
Learn more about the Privacy Policy here.
The
new Privacy Policy will be effective from February 29, 2012.
Notification
Concerning the Health On the Net Foundation’s Approach to
Online Pharmacies
(Published
on February 10th,
2012)
Even
though the services provided by online pharmacies are convenient
and their product pricing can be more attractive than at a pharmacy
store, the regulation of online pharmacies is still in development and
evolving. It has been noticed that larger numbers of falsified
medications are on the market and that this number is on the rise due
to the possibility of ordering medication online from all over the
world. Another issue is the lack of control in ensuring whether the
websites hosting online pharmacies are real, licensed pharmacies or
that they are deceptive pharmacies.1
The
United States (US) is employing a system which verifies the
trustworthiness of online pharmacies.2
However, they also noticed
that only a small percentage of the verified online pharmacies actually
comply with all their conditions.3
Furthermore, the US is still updating its legislation concerning this
issue.4
In Canada, a similar mechanism has been put in place but thus far no
online pharmacies have been verified nor approved.5
The European Union is trying to fight falsified medications and
deceptive online pharmacies with new
legislation that will become applicable as of January 2013.6
In
the light of the current developments regarding the legislative
framework reducing the amount of falsified medications on the market,
and to increase the trustworthiness of online pharmacies, the Health On
the Net Foundation has decided to take the following approach to online
pharmacies and related websites:
- At the moment, only
the websites verified by the mechanisms put in place by the United
States (VIPPS7 and
Legitscript8) and
Canada (VIPPS9) will
be
eligible to come within the range of the HON Certification process.
- Any other online
pharmacy website or website related to online sales of pharmaceutical
products that have already obtained the HONcode Certification, and are
not verified and approved by the mechanisms named under point 1, will
be asked to remove their HONcode Seal until further notice. If the
website is verified and approved by the said mechanisms, the website
remains certified by HON and will not be asked to remove the seal. It
needs to be stressed here that HON certifies websites based on the
transparent, complete and clear way of publication of health
information. This means that the part of the website concerning the
online sale of products or services is not covered by the HONcode
certification.
- The Health On the Net
Foundation will be following closely the developments of the
legislative frameworks concerning online pharmacies and related
websites. As soon as there is more clarity regarding this issue and
appropriate regulation is put into practice, HON will adapt its
certification process accordingly in order to ensure trustworthiness of
websites providing online sales of pharmaceutical products.
- In the case that
online pharmacies and related websites once again become eligible to
apply for the HONcode Certification, the Health On the Net Foundation
will inform you about it promptly.
If
you have any question or comments, please don’t hesitate to
contact us:
Tel: +41 22 37 26 250
Feedback form: http://services.hon.ch/Contact/contact.pl
Skype: honcode
References:
- WHO, Safety and
security on the Internet : challenges and advances in Member
States : based on the findings of the second global survey on
eHealth. (Global Observatory for eHealth Series, v. 4), 2011,
accessible on http://www.who.int/goe/publications/goe_security_web.pdf,
last retrieved 03-02-2012, p. 21 to 25
- http://www.nabp.net/programs/accreditation/vipps/find-a-vipps-online-pharmacy/
and http://www.legitscript.com/, last
retrieved 03-02-2012
- http://www.nabp.net/programs/accreditation/vipps/
and http://www.legitscript.com/getcertified,
last retrieved 03-02-2012
- Introduced in the
Senate of the United States on 15 December 2011, 112th Congress, 1st
session: Text of S. 2002: ‘Online Pharmacy Safety
Act’, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s112-2002,
last retrieved 03-02-2012
- In 2003, the National
Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA), Canada's
counterpart to the NABP, introduced the VIPPS program but so far there
are no verified online pharmacies: http://www.napra.org/pages/Practice_Resources/general_information_about_vipps.aspx,
last retrieved 03-02-2012
- Directive 2011/62/EU
of the European Parliament and of the council, 8 June 2011, published
in the official Journal of the European Union, L 174/74 , http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:174:0074:0087:EN:PDF
, last retrieved 03-02-2012; For more information see also the website
of the European Medicines Agency on falsified medicines, http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/special_topics/general/general_content_000186.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac058002d4e8&jsenabled=true,
last retrieved 03-02-2012
- http://www.nabp.net/programs/accreditation/vipps/,
last retrieved 03-02-2012
- http://www.legitscript.com/getcertified,
last retrieved 03-02-2012
- http://www.napra.org/pages/Practice_Resources/information_for_pharmacists_about_vipps_certification.aspx,
last retrieved 03-02-2012
Notification
of a
comparative
study regarding the increased involvement of the general public in
trustworthy online medical and health information
(Published
on December 1st,
2011)
Currently,
the HONcode certified
websites are audited manually once
every year by the HONcode Team. We have observed that many websites are
consistently, year after year, in compliance with the HONcode
principles; in this context, we would like to use the opportunity to
conduct a comparative study and proceed to a testing phase. This
testing phase will aim to evaluate the capacity of a biennial revision.
The revision will take place once every two years, with a more active
involvement of the general public and more frequent random reviews
(automatic and manual checks).
These
changes will be valid from
the 1st of December, 2011.
If
you have any questions, please
don't hesitate to contact us: tel. +41 (0)22 372 62 50, email:
.
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