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Better Health Channel: quality assured health and medical information
The Better Health Channel website was founded in 1999 by the Victorian Government, Australia as a consumer health information website for the Victorian community. It is now Australia's most popular health and medical website.
The site’s aim has always been to provide free health and medical information in an easy to understand format and language.
Thanks to the support of Better Health Channel visitors, partners and staff, what started as a modest website of around 100 facts sheets has now become a large repository of over 1,770 facts sheets, hundreds of healthy recipes, interactive features and calculators, directories and more.
Voting with your clicks
Better Health Channel is now an established website with a reputation for quality assured, comprehensive and trustworthy information. It is one of the most visited health and medical websites in Australia with over 900,000 unique visitors each month.
Better Health Channel has received many awards over the years, the most recent include:
- Hitwise Award 2008 for the Number 1 Health and Medical Website in Australia
- Hitwise Award 2007 for the Number 1 Victorian Government Website
- NetGuide Web Award 2006 for Best Health and Fitness website
- Hitwise Award 2005 for the Number 1 Health and Medical Information Website in Australia.
But awards don’t mean as much to us as the positive feedback we receive regularly from appreciative Better Health Channel users.
Developing Better Health Channel content
We develop all our information in consultation with our content partners, who are reputable health or health-related organisations with specialised knowledge in a particular topic area.
All fact sheets pass through a rigorous approval process that includes health and medical experts from the content partner organisation, editorial staff and final approval by the Victorian Department of Health.
Better Health Channel content reflects the wide range of health interests in the community. Our content decisions are based on:
- Current and emerging health issues
- Developments in medical research and practice
- National and state health priorities
- Requests from Better Health Channel users and content partners.
Linking to and from the Better Health Channel
We encourage other websites to link to the Better Health Channel.
To complement our extensive range of content, the Better Health Channel also provides a range of links to external websites. Linking to other sites is at the Better Health Channel’s discretion. We generally link to websites where the host organisation:
- Is a Better Health Channel partner
- Has aims and objectives that are consistent with those of the Better Health Channel
- Offers high-quality, consumer focussed, up-to-date information
- Has recognised expertise in their field
- Aims to provide objective health information that does not promote a particular product or service
- Provides health information which complements information on the Better Health Channel.
We most commonly link to government, educational and other not for profit health and health-related websites. We may, at our discretion, choose to link to commercial websites if they:
- Offer high quality content which we consider to be of particular value to Better Health Channel site visitors
- Clearly differentiate content from advertising.
The Better Health Channel team
The Better Health Channel team is located in the Health Web Communications Unit, which is part of the Victorian Government's Department of Health.
How to contact the Better Health Channel
We welcome your feedback and take it on board when planning and developing Better Health Channel content and updating the website. If you have a query or comment, use the forms on Contact us.
Please be aware that Better Health Channel can’t give you health and medical advice over the phone or by email. We suggest you contact your doctor or ring NURSE-ON-CALL for expert health advice from a registered nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, phone: 1300 60 60 24 for the cost of a local call from anywhere in Victoria.
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