Why  is it important for providers to know the reliability of sources which they are providing to patients or that patients may be utilizing at home.

It is important for providers to know the reliability of sources which they are providing to patients or that patients may be utilizing at home because health information available online and in other media outlets is vast, varied and often times incomplete. It can be difficult for non-clinicians to evaluate the accuracy of a source, making providers’ role in determining trustworthiness even more critical. When considering a resource for their patient’s use, healthcare professionals must ensure that it meets standards of accuracy and is relevant to medical practice.

The challenge lies in the fact that reliable sources are not always easy to identify or readily available; many sources are biased or outdated, while others may contain incorrect information. Furthermore, there is no single source considered trustworthy across all areas of medicine or geography; what’s right for one person may not be right for another. In order to protect patients from misunderstanding complex topics such as disease risk factors and treatments, healthcare providers should dedicate time to familiarizing themselves with reliable resources so they are equipped with accurate knowledge when recommending them to their patients.

In addition to knowing what resources are credible, it’s also important that healthcare professionals teach their patients how best assess a source’s reliability on their own by evaluating its credentials (accreditation), currency (date published/updated) and references (evidence-based practices). Providers should take advantage of available tools like PubMed Health—which provides up-to-date scientific evidence alongside expert commentary—and regularly review existing guidelines issued by professional societies when discerning appropriate content for patient education materials. By taking these steps, providers can help guarantee patient safety by disseminating trustworthy health information through responsible recommendation methods.