Issues in evaluating health websites in an Internet-based randomized controlled trial

Critical, evidence-based evaluation of the effectiveness of information and communication technology should be one important component of eHealth [1].In clinical medicine, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the "gold-standard" to assess the effectiveness of a treatment: next to systematic reviews, a well-conducted randomized trial can provide the strongest evidence for (or against) the effectiveness of an intervention.In a RCT, eligible patients are typically randomly assigned to receive either the new intervention or a control, for example, standard care or a placebo.Patients are then followed over a period of time and outcomes in both arms are measured and compared.Can we evaluate the effectiveness of a single health website in a similar way?