Evaluation criteria for pharmacoeconomic and health economic Internet resources.

The purpose of this paper is to present criteria for evaluating Internet sites and supply a selective sample of sites that may be useful in improving the transfer of information and diffusion of innovation in pharmacoeconomics and health economics. The nine criteria deal with the following: 1) Expertise - Qualified individuals should generate the information. 2) Confidentiality - All patient data should be confidential and protected. 3) Referencing - Information should be supported with proper citations. 4) Justification - Rigorous evidence should support the claims relating to benefits, risks and costs of any intervention or service. 5) Authorship - provided in the clearest manner with contact addresses. 6) Sponsorship - Support for sites should be clearly identified. 7) Advertising & Editorial Policy - Advertising should be distinguishable from other informational content. 8) Study Evaluation - should comply with the standard economic evaluation checklists 9) Generalizability - Sites should define their target countries and audiences and discuss potential generalizability.