Code of Conduct
for health-related content.
deCODEme complies with all eight principles of the Health On the Net Code of Conduct for medical and health web sites.
- The HON Code of Conduct lists the following principles:
Authoritative "Any medical or health advice provided and hosted on this site will only be given by medically trained and qualified professionals unless a clear statement is made that a piece of advice offered is from a non-medically qualified individual or organization."
Our editorial team of qualified genetic scientists and health professionals review all content provided by deCODEme. Any additional medical and health-related information provided on the deCODEme site is selected only from reliable and reviewed resources. Sources are listed at the end of each article under “More Information” and “Scientific References”.
Complementarity "The information provided on this site is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician."
Our primary objective is providing our site visitors and customers with high quality, accurate and reliable information that is not meant to replace information provided by a doctor or healthcare provider, but is meant to facilitate and improve doctor-patient communication. We encourage our customers to learn about their personal genetics and how they relate to their health so that they can become more active in their preventive efforts and more effective partners with their doctors regarding their health promotion and healthcare.
Privacy and Confidentiality "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 honor 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."
We fully respect the privacy and confidentiality of our customers as well as our general site visitors. Please review our privacy policy for more details. Please note that the site undertakes to honor or exceed the legal requirements for medical/health information privacy in the United States and the European Union.
Attribution "Where appropriate, information contained on this site will be supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, have specific HTML links to that data. The date when a clinical page was last modified will be clearly displayed (e.g. at the bottom of the page)."
Because deCODEme is designed for the general information consumer we have in most cases not included references to source data within the text for the sake of readability. We however list sources for each article (under “More Information” and “Scientific References” – see principle 1), and we also maintain records of scientific references off-line. If you have a question regarding our references or sources, please contact us.
Every page with substantive content includes a page review date at the bottom of the page. Every genetic results page provides a notification and date of all updates to our customers personal genetic results data and their interpretations.
Justifiability "Any claims relating to the benefits/performance of a specific treatment, commercial product or service will be supported by appropriate, balanced evidence in the manner outlined above in Principle 4. "
While we provide specific genetic test results and their interpretations based on up-to-date and reviewed scientific literature, we do not advocate or promote specific commercial products or services other than our own.
Transparency "The designers of this Web site will seek to provide information in the clearest possible manner and provide contact addresses for visitors that seek further information or support. The Webmaster will display his/her E-mail address clearly throughout the Web site."
Our editorial team is responsible for reviewing all content provided on the deCODEme website. We have not included contact information for specific individuals out of respect for their privacy. If you have questions for our editorial team members, please contact us.
deCODEme provides an easy to access email address to our customer service representative for visitors and customers who would like to receive more details about our services or support. Our customer service policy ensures that all enquiries are responded to promptly, or within 2-3 working days.
Financial disclosure "Support for this Web site will be clearly identified, including the identities of commercial and non-commercial organizations that have contributed funding, services or material for the site."
As a commercial service and a private company, we do not have sponsors of our services other than our paying customers. The prices for our services are listed clearly. Our advertizing policy can be reviewed below.
Advertizing policy "If advertising is a source of funding it will be clearly stated. A brief description of the advertising policy adopted by the Web site owners will be displayed on the site. Advertising and other promotional material will be presented to viewers in a manner and context that facilitates differentiation between it and the original material created by the institution operating the site."
There is currently no advertising on the deCODEme site. Any advertisements that could potentially be added in the future will be clearly differentiated form the original material and content provided by deCODEme.
