New on the web: Independent, updated health information for the general public

The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care challenges the language barriers in health and launches Europe's first bilingual evidence-based health information website.

With the results of more than 22,000 trials being published every year, no website that does not regularly update its information can be confident its information is reliable. The new website, called Informed Health Online, aims to help people stay on top of the best knowledge in health. According to the Institute's Director, Professor Peter Sawicki, "The internet is full of information, but most of it is not based on reliable research and most of it is now out-of-date."

Germany's national evidence-based healthcare institution, IQWiG, launched the English-speaking version of its website this week. Called Informed Health Online in English and Gesundheitsinformation.de in German, the website will build up into in a comprehensive source of reliable information over time. It is a lively website, including graphics, quizzes, multi-media elements, and patients' stories. According to Editor-in-Chief Hilda Bastian, "Informed Health Online turns the mountain of research evidence into easy-to-understand information the average person can use. And we let you know what patients care about as well."

The website is recommended to patients in a new book which also launched this week in England, Testing Treatments: Better research for better healthcare. Sir Iain Chalmers, one of the book's authors, welcomed the website to England this week. He said, "I am delighted to see this important new website arrive on the internet. Informed Health Online is sure to play an important role in keeping people up-to-date with what is known to work in health care, and where uncertainty still exists."

"Hundreds of thousands of patients are participating in trials in health care so that we can all be better informed by the results of these fair tests. IQWiG is to be congratulated for taking this historic step in making the results of this knowledge accessible to such a wide public, and for helping to break down the language barriers in access to knowledge."

Professor Sawicki said, "Well-informed patients are essential for good healthcare. Informed Health Online offers patients an independent, high quality source of information they can trust."