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WASHINGTON, D.C., February 18, 2000 – The first draft of the Internet Healthcare Coalition endorsed "International e-Health Code of Ethics" was unveiled today and can be fully accessed with additional notes and definitions via the Coalition’s website

This draft Code represents both the insights and reflections of the e-Health Ethics Summit which convened in Washington, D.C. 31 January – 2 February 2000. The draft in its present form has not yet been formally endorsed by the e-Health Ethics Summit. Formal endorsement will take place after an eight-week period of public comment and consultation. Following this period, the draft will be revised for final publication on or about 15 May 2000.

"Never before have we witnessed such broad consensus on such an important topic," said e-Health Ethics Summit Co-Chair Helga Rippen, MD, PhD, MPH.

"Through a democratic process we have offered the world a truly international, living Code of e-Health Ethics," said e-Health Ethics Summit Co-Chair Ahmad Risk, MD. "Continued review and public consultation will only make it stronger and more widely accepted."

The e-Health Ethics Summit Steering Group oversaw the work of The Hastings Center, an independent, non-profit research institute that addresses ethical issues in medicine and the life sciences, which has reviewed, organized and edited the minutes of the working Summit to develop the current draft Code. While developing the draft, both the Steering Group and The Hastings Center preserved the original language of the working Summit.

This draft Code was created with the input from all key Internet Health constituencies including consumers and patients, healthcare professionals, ethicists, dot-com entities, academicians, special-interest societies, manufacturers of regulated drugs and medical devices, governmental agencies, and international representatives.

The Internet is changing how people receive health information and health care. All who use the Internet for health-related purposes must join together to create an environment of trusted relationships to assure high quality information and services, protect privacy, and enhance the value of the Internet for both consumers and providers of health information, products, and services. The goal of the "e-Health Code of Ethics" is to ensure that all people worldwide can confidently, and without risk, realize the full benefits of the Internet to improve their health.

Health information has the potential both to improve health and to do harm. All people who use the Internet for health-related purposes must be able to trust that the sites they visit adhere to the highest ethical standards and that the information provided is credible.

Because health and health care are critically important to people, the organizations and individuals that provide health information on the Internet have special, strong obligations to be trustworthy, provide high quality content, protect users’ privacy, and adhere to standards of best practices for online commerce and online professional services in health care.

Organizations and individuals providing health information, products, or services on the Internet have an obligation to candidly disclose

1. Those factors that could influence content
2. The potential risks of providing personal information on the Internet

Organizations and individuals offering health information, products, or services on the Internet have an obligation to

1. Provide high quality information, products, or services
2. Provide means for users to evaluate the quality of health information

Organizations and individuals providing health information, products, or services on the Internet have an obligation to

1. Safeguard users' privacy
2. Obtain users' informed consent when gathering personal information

Organizations and individuals who sponsor, promote, or sell health information, products, or services on the Internet have an obligation to

1. Disclose any information a reasonable person would believe might influence his or her decision to purchase or use products or services
2. Be truthful and not deceptive
3. Engage in responsible business relationships and affiliations
4. Guarantee editorial independence
5. Disclose the site's privacy policy and terms of use

Health care professionals and organizations who provide health information, products, or services on the Internet have an obligation to

1. Adhere to the highest standards of professional practice
2. Help patients to understand how the Internet affects the relationship between professional and patient while adapting the highest professional standards to the evolving interactions made possible by the Internet

Comments about the Code are welcome via the Internet Coalition’s Web site, http://www.internethealth.org

More information regarding the Internet Healthcare Coalition and its "eHealth Ethics Initiative" can be found on the Web at http://www.ihealthcoalition.org