We are proud to announce that the Blood Pressure Association is among the first charities in the UK to have achieved an independent mark of quality for the reliability of our health information.

We are among 36 organisations to have qualified as members of The Information Standard, a new certification scheme designed to help people find reliable sources of health information.

The independently governed scheme, supported by the Department of Health, has been devised to drive up standards among information producers.

To qualify the Blood Pressure Association had to demonstrate our information is clear, accessible, accurate, appropriately researched, authoritative, up-to-date and designed to meet the needs of those with high blood pressure.

We can now use The Information Standard ‘quality mark’ on the Blood Pressure Association’s Pressure Points series (five booklets giving the basics of high blood pressure and its management) as a mark of quality and reassurance for the public.

It is hoped that this quality mark will become the main way that people will be able to test the reliability of the health information they are reading.

Angela Coulter, an independent healthcare analyst who advises on the scheme, commented: “The organisations now able to display The Information Standard quality mark will immediately be able to differentiate themselves from competitors, as producing high-quality information that people can rely upon. These organisations are the first to gain certification and their achievement is an important milestone for the scheme.”

Other organisations that have been certified so far include Diabetes UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Royal National Institute for the Blind.

Further information

The Information Standard scheme:
http://www.theinformationstandard.org/