HONcode certificate: respect of the 8 HONcode principles by the health website

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Certificate of compliance with the Code of Conduct HONcode

The health Website
Sclero.org by the nonprofit International Scleroderma Network
is in compliance with the HONcode

Title of the site: Sclero.org by the nonprofit International Scleroderma Network
Web address: http://www.sclero.org/
HONcode PIN number : HONConduct582733
Date of initial review: 23 Feb 1998
Validity of certificate 31 Aug 2011 - Aug 2013
Date of last visit 31 Aug 2011

This certificate confirms the revision of the site by the HONcode Team at the above date.
It respects and pledges to honor the 8 principles of the HON Code of Conduct (HONcode).

* 1. Authoritative 2. Complementarity 3. Privacy 4. Attribution 5. Justifiability 6. Transparency
7. Financial disclosure 8. Advertising policy

Speed access of ethical health information online is critical.

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Do you think the site is not respecting the HONcode?

The Health on the Net (HON) certificate serves as a guarantee that this website, at the date of its certification, complies with and pledges to honor the 8 principles of the HON Code of Conduct as drawn up by the HON foundation.

The responsible of the certified site commits to keep the site in compliance with the HON code principles for the duration of the certification.

Although measures such as a complaint mechanism, the periodical review and the automatic surveillance mechanisms are put in place to guarantee the compliance of the certified website with the ethical principles of HON as much as possible, incidental inaccuracies cannot be completely excluded. In no event the HON foundation and/or its partner(s) can be held liable for any damages resulting from the use or inability to use HON certified websites nor can the HON foundation and/or its partner(s) be held liable for the content of these certified websites, including, but not limited to the information of third-parties or hyperlinks accessible via HON certified websites.

The certified website is responsible for the content of its website, unless otherwise provided by law.

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You will find below the elements identified by the HONcode team at a precise date to justify the respect of the 8 ethical principles.

The content of this certificate has been collected and written by the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) and should not be used without previous permission granted by HON. A request for permission can be sent to: HON.

1. Information must be authoritative

http://www.sclero.org/isn/hr/teams/website.html

http://www.sclero.org/isn/hr/bio/seibold-james-r/en.html

I am also ISN Webmaster, and an ISN Artist. My drawings, paintings, and photography illustrate many of the medical and patient stories on this site.

Website Team for the Internation Scleroderma Network
Our Web Team designs and develops our 5,000+ page web site, in 23 languages.

Webmaster
Ensz, Shelley
Assistant Webmaster
Willis, Janey
Project Manager
Varghese, Tony

Dr. Seibold was most recently Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington... (31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

This is a moderated forum. Our volunteer moderating team provides daily coverage, even on holidays. Sometimes it may take up to several hours for submitted messages to be approved. Read our profiles. We edit many messages to make them compliant or more readable. Users cannot edit their own messages after they are submitted, however they can delete them or they can email forums@sclero.org and ask us to make the edits. Our usual approach is to modify messages to keep them within forum guidelines, but in certain cases we will prevent users from posting new forum messages. (See ISN Guide to Forum... (31 Aug 2011) -

2. Presentation of the site
Mission:

We are a full-service nonprofit scleroderma charitable foundation providing stellar worldwide research, support, education and awareness for scleroderma and related illnesses, such as pulmonary hypertension.
(31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

We are a wonderful resource for general support and information for people who are interested in scleroderma or related illnesses, and who are good-natured, team-oriented and basically well-balanced. We share our hobbies, challenges, coping tips, questions, and support. Post to the list as often as you like,especially if it is to lend kindness or comfort to others.

(31 Aug 2011) -

Audience:

We provide stellar global research, support, education and awareness for scleroderma and related illnesses, such as pulmonary hypertension, with over 5,000 pages in 23 languages for medical professionals and consumers alike.
(14 Jun 2010) -

For the collaborative platform:

Let's Share! We are a wonderful resource for general support and information for people who are interested in scleroderma or related illnesses, and who are good-natured, team-oriented and basically well-balanced. We share our hobbies, challenges, coping tips, questions, and support. Post to the list as often as you like,especially if it is to lend kindness or comfort to others.

(31 Aug 2011) -

Purpose of the website

If in doubt — check it out!

If you are having new or troublesome symptoms, call your doctor and/or go directly to your local emergency care facility. Do not email me and ask what I think about your symptoms or whether you need to see a doctor now, for I am not a doctor nor am I always available. Please get real medical help! If you really do not know where to begin (what doctor to call, etc.) call the Emergency Room of your nearest hospital or the main number of your clinic and ask to speak to a nurse.

We do not promo... (31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

Who We Are All volunteers and forum users are assumed to be non-medical professionals. Even when expertise is acknowledged or claimed, always consult your doctor for medical advice. We provide basic support and general information, but we are not doctors, counselors, psychiatrists, social workers, or legal, financial or disability advisors. We cannot provide any help for mental health issues (plus we also need to discourage internet trolls, who delight in throwing fake emotional fits), so we all handle mental health issues with our own medical team, apart from this forum.

(31 Aug 2011) -

3. Confidentiality

Privacy Policy
We subscribe to the HONcode principles of the Health on the Net Foundation. Verify here.
Confidentiality of data relating to individual patients and visitors to a medical/health Web site, including their identity, is respected by this Web site. The Web site owners undertake to honour or exceed the legal requirements of medical/health information privacy that apply in the country and state where the Web site and mirror sites are located.
Where appropriate, information contained on this site is supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, w... (31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

Safety and Privacy Our forum messages can be read by everyone, including our spouses, children, doctors, employers, disability examiners, friends, neighbors, credit agencies, landlords, schools, insurance examiners, lawyers, thieves, cyber-criminals, police, courts, stalkers, pedophiles, ex-mates, and potential employers, even many years later. We avoid personal indications of taking pain medication or other addictive medications so that we are not victimized by drug dealers or abusers (Read More). Always guard your privacy, safety and decorum on the internet. Select a unique, unrevealing nic... (31 Aug 2011) -

4. Information must be documented: Referenced and dated

http://www.sclero.org/isn/policies/privacy.html

Only data for one sample are displayed among those selected.

PubMed. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology Vol 22, Issue 1, March 2008, Pp 165-189

Where appropriate, information contained on this site is supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, we provide specific HTML links to that data, as well as the date of that item.
(31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

Mainstream Scientific We focus on proven remedies and legitimate studies from mainstream scientific studies, as covered on our main http://www.sclero.org website. We avoid discussions of vitamin,herbal and alternative therapies that have not yet been proven to be of benefit for scleroderma (Read More). To avoid malicious codes, we only allow links that are from and within our http://www.sclero.org website. Please submit all other new link or topic suggestions with the ISN News Submission Form. ... (31 Aug 2011) -

June 17, 2011.
(31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

Posted 03 September 2009 - 09:58 AM
(31 Aug 2011) -

5. Justification of claims

This principle is not applicable for this site

6. User support and adequation

address at bottom of the page

International Scleroderma Network (ISN) [...]

(31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

they can email forums@sclero.org
(31 Aug 2011) -

7. Disclosure of funding sources

The International Scleroderma Network (ISN) offers free memberships to anyone who registers for our free newsletter or Sclero Forums online support group. We solicit and accept donations from individuals and companies. We also offer free services for our affiliate support groups in other countries.

ISN past or present donors or affiliates include book distributors, online advertising agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and so forth. All affiliate commissions go directly to the nonprofit ISN [...]
(31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

We Are All volunteers
(31 Aug 2011) -

8. Advertising policy

Ads appear as typical graphic content and/or say "Advertisement" or "Ad". We often display names and/or logos for our major donors, usually saying "Thanks to" with a link to their site and give additional publicity in our newsletter, especially for major sponsors of special events.

We also sell books written and produced by our nonprofit organization, such as the Voices of Scleroderma book series. All the book royalties go to the nonprofit International Scleroderma Network.

The ISN offers to make and post free homepages for ANY scleroderma support group in the world ... (31 Aug 2011) -

Ads appear as typical graphic content and/or say "Advertisement" or "Ad".
(31 Aug 2011) -

For the collaborative platform:

Our Limits We have the ISN mission to uphold. Therefore this is not a suitable soapbox, sales prospect, personal fundraiser, suicide hotline, emergency assistant, recruiting ground, social worker, disability, financial or legal advisor, pulpit, or political platform for any of us. We discuss fund raising,awareness, support groups, and research news only when the topics are initiated by our appropriate ISN representatives.

(31 Aug 2011) -

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