People don’t just like medical blogs. They rely on them. Medical blogs are integral to many people’s health journeys, from answering their various medical questions to learning more about a specific doctor or practice.
Your medical blog helps you connect with current and potential patients, increases your practice’s online visibility, and builds your reputation in the healthcare industry. That said, operating a health-related blog comes with heavy responsibilities.
One of the biggest? Finding and using credible sources.
The Biggest Challenge of Running a Medical Blog
Creative, personal, gossip and other subjective blogs may be able to take something from social media or link to a less-than-credible source and create an entire post around it. They don’t have to dig deep into sources and ensure everything being said is correct. They should. But they don’t have to.
Medical blogs, not so much. There is no room for inaccuracy and unreliable information in a medical blog. Backing up everything you say with credible sources is a must if you want to grow a blog that your readers can rely on and healthcare professionals would be proud of.
Why You Have to Back Up Your Claims
Credibility is everything for a medical blog. If you lose your credibility, you lose your following and, ultimately, your blog. So, you must back up everything you say with high-quality resources and research.
More importantly, you’re writing about something directly impacting your readers’ lives. As scary as this may sound, someone can do serious harm to themselves or others when they absorb and act on inaccurate health information.
In addition, health information is always changing. A good example of this is the information surrounding health anxiety during the pandemic. Health anxiety was at its peak during the height of the pandemic. Some sources didn’t acknowledge or go into depth about the severity of it.
However, other more credible sources did. Not only did they define and differentiate health anxiety from other forms. But they offered guidance on when to seek intentional help like therapy for it, should a less serious form of help, like an internet and news detox not be enough to curb it.
Inaccurate information or lack thereof could prevent or delay someone from getting the help they really need. So readers need up-to-date info surrounding anxiety or any health issue to navigate it and uncertainty successfully,
Finding the right information to back your claims will ensure that you share the most accurate data with your readers so they can make the best decisions for their health. It’ll build your credibility in the process too.
How to Source Information Properly
Finding sources for your medical blog will take time, effort, and intention. Honestly, it’s a lot of work. But it’s worth ensuring you only cite the best and most reputable sources.
Here’s how to go about sourcing information for your medical blog.
Adhere to best practices for online medical research
We’re long past the days of sifting through library books to find all there is to know about the medical field. The internet is here, and you should use it to find credible sources.
However, you must proceed with caution regarding online medical research. People can put anything on the internet and claim it to be true. So, you’ve got to adhere to best practices for online medical research.
Here are some of those best practices:
- Rely on evidence-based information
- Stick to sites with .gov, .edu, and .org website extensions
- Use a tool like Alexa Page Rank to check each online resource’s page rank
- Do a thorough check on who runs the site, what they offer, when they publish information, and from who
- Be extremely diligent when checking sources and claims brought forth on social media and unsecured sites
- If you’re looking at a resource that is a compilation of statistics from various places, check the original source
- Know the most reputable and credible resources in the medical field, like PubMed, Medline Plus, and Healthfinder.gov.
Read through the information thoroughly
Many medical blogs make the mistake of not reading through the entire source they’re citing. As a result, they end up using a resource that confuses readers and doesn’t necessarily back their claims.
Not only is it essential to read through an entire source, but you should also have general knowledge of what you’re writing about, especially if you aren’t a certified medical professional. This way, you’ll be able to determine if something is inaccurate about what you’re reading.
For example, let’s say you’re running a health blog about aging. You’re writing about depression in seniors and the steps they can take to reduce the risk of experiencing it. You’re considering citing a source that claims it’s better for their depression to stay to themselves.
Your general understanding of depression in seniors lets you know that socializing and staying busy outside is much healthier and helpful. This knowledge helps you set aside any questionable and inaccurate sources.
Reading the information in each source carefully and interpreting it accurately, as well as having general knowledge of what you’re writing about, allows you to state the facts better. It also ensures you’re giving people the information they need to make their own interpretations rather than swaying them one way or another.
Use your credentials to your advantage
If you claim to be an authority on the information you’re offering, be one. Don’t shy away from the credentials you have in the medical field.
Instead, use them to your advantage. Properly advertising your credentials can also improve the visibility of your medical blog on search engines.
So, create an “about” page on your blog and talk about who you are, what you do, and your credentials in the medical field. Develop genuine relationships with other reputable medical professionals and lean on them for accurate information. Also, be confident in what you know and use it to weed out less-than-credible sources.
Sourcing accurate information is integral to a successful medical blog. Be sure you’re compiling and using the best and most credible sources for yours with the tips above.
Moving Forward: The Latest and Greatest in Medical Technology
Moving Forward: The Latest and Greatest in Medical Technology