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Internet Healthcare Coalition To Host e-Health Ethics Summit

Responding to Industry-wide Call to Arms, Non-Partisan Coalition of Internet Healthcare Thought-Leaders Convene To Establish Guiding Principles

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Internet Healthcare Coalition (IHC), a non-profit organization dedicated to quality healthcare information on the Internet, today announced it will host a high-level working summit in Washington D.C., on February 1-2, 2000, to forge a set of ethical principles for health-related Web sites.

The announcement was made in response to growing demand from users of the medical Internet for reliable healthcare information, increasing media attention to this issue and a number of calls to action by industry leaders. In the most recent example, George Lundberg, M.D., editor-in-chief of Medscape, said in a keynote address to the IHC's annual meeting on Wednesday, October 13, 1999:

"The essence of professionalism is self-governance. Just as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, founded in 1978, has set the standards for how medical journal authors and editors should behave, the leaders of the e-health information enterprise should now set common standards for ethical behavior."

Lundberg, former editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association, then threw down the following challenge: "I call upon the Internet Healthcare Coalition to now set international standards that can become commonly accepted."

The IHC's "e-Health Ethics Summit" will examine topics such as advertising practices, sponsored content, privacy and disclaimers. The summit aims to develop principles through the consensus of industry, academic, government and patient leaders, and will post its work on the Internet to allow for greater participation of the Internet health community.

"Ethical conduct does not happen by accident," said Dr. Helga Rippen, chair of the Internet Healthcare Coalition. "It requires leadership, vision, and integrity. The IHC is ideally suited to lead the debate as one of the most diverse and experienced independent, international organizations involved in quality information online."

Invitees will include all the key stakeholders in the healthcare Internet space, including academic specialists in the fields of ethics and public health policy, commercial developers and providers of Internet-based health-related education and information services, medical libraries and database providers, medical specialty and special-interest societies, and manufacturers of regulated drugs and medical devices.  The Summit will be co-chaired by Dr Helga Rippen and Dr Ahmad Risk, both of whom are Directors of the IHC.

"We feel extremely confident that before the end of 2000, we will have a set of principles that can help guide the health Internet community," said Rippen.

About the IHC
The Internet Healthcare Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, is dedicated to identifying and promoting quality healthcare resources on the Internet. Founded in 1997 in response to issues raised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the IHC represents a diverse group of professional and consumer organizations worldwide interested in healthcare and the Internet. The IHC's goal is to help healthcare consumers and professionals stay well informed about the evolving issues relating to the quality of Internet health resources and information. The IHC can be found on the Web at http://www.ihealthcoalition.org