YouTube launches health certification program

TORONTO – To combat the tide of health misinformation circulating on social media, YouTube Health announced a certification program for users of its platform in Canada. It has launched applications for Canadian licensed doctors, nurses, psychologists, and health organizations to make their channels eligible for YouTube Health certification.

When approved by the company, licensed healthcare professionals will have health source information panels underneath their videos, to help viewers identify them as authoritative sources.

And content from licensed healthcare providers will also be included and highlighted within health content ‘shelves’ when Canadians search for health topics.

“This new step will allow us to expand YouTube’s health shelves to include high quality information from an even wider group of healthcare channels across Canada, and as a result, incorporate a greater diversity of voices,” the company said.

The announcement of a Canadian certification program follows YouTube Health’s partnership work with leading healthcare institutions across the country, including CAMH, UHN, Horizon Health Network, SickKids and The Ottawa Hospital.

“As a physician and content creator, I’m excited about these new health features that highlight trustworthy health advice from credible experts,” said Dr. Siobhan Deshauer (pictured). “I firmly believe that making accurate health information easier to find can help Canadians navigate our health care system and engage more effectively with their health care teams. My hope is that this initiative will enable viewers to take a more active and informed role in managing their health.”

Dr. Deshauer, an internal medicine and rheumatologist, and former professional violinist, runs the popular Violin MD channel on YouTube. The channel provides information to the public about what it’s like to be a doctor, nurse, paramedic and other medical professionals. It also offers information about medical conditions, serving as a source of health education.

YouTube Health said to be included in its new program, the channels of healthcare providers will be reviewed against a set of principles developed by an expert panel convened by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine their credibility.

Health professionals must meet the following criteria:

• You are licensed as a doctor, nurse, or mental health professional
• You must attest to the CMSS/NAM/WHO information sharing standards
• The YouTube channel has a minimum of 1,500 public watch hours on the channel in the last 12 months or 1.5 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days
• The YouTube channel is primarily focused on health information
• The YouTube channel has no active Community Guidelines strikes
• The YouTube channel is not operated by a pharmaceutical company, health insurer, or medical device company