Health Information Resources on the Internet

---

Starting Points | Books | Clinical Practice | Consumer Information & Self-Help | Death, Dying, End-of-Life

Starting Points & Medical Search Sites (links checked 04/02/2003)

• How to Evaluate Medical Information Found on the Internet
  http://www.ihealthcoalition.org/content/tips.html
• Tips for Healthy Surfing Online:Finding Quality Health Information on the Internet
  http://new.cmanet.org/publicdoc.cfm/60/0/GENER/99
  Suggestions for judging the reliability and quality of health and medical information found via internet resources, from staff of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), plus additional commentary by the California Medical Association Library staff.

• Hardin Meta Directory of Internet Health Sources
  http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/
  Guide to medical sites on the web. Sponsored by Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa.
• MedHunt
  http://www.hon.ch/MedHunt/
  Web-wide search engine sponsored by the Health On the Net Foundation, a A non-profit organisation, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, to build and support the international health and medical community on the Internet and WWW.
• MEDLINEplus
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
  "Find information on hundreds of diseases, conditions and wellness issues." This web site is sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. In addition to disease information it also includes a medical dictionary; a medical encyclopedia; links to hospital, doctor and dentist directories; links to the web sites or major medical associations and organizations; online publications and news; link to the Medline medical journal database.
• PubMed
  http://pubmed.gov/
  PubMed is sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and allows you to search for medical and health sciences journal articles from the late 1950's to the present. It can be somewhat imposing to use, but your friendly medical librarian should be able to assist you.
• How to Evaluate Medical Information Found on the Internet
  http://www.ihealthcoalition.org/content/tips.html
• MedWebPlus.Com - Health Science Information Index
  http://www.medwebplus.com/
  MedWebPlus is a free service designed to help users sift through the ever growing amounts of data of/on/about or in any way regarding, the health sciences. Created and maintained by Steve Foote and Andy Kogelnik and [formerly associated with MedWeb at Emory University] additional staff and support from y-DNA,inc., MedWebPlus catalogs both on-line and print information sources. y-DNA, inc. provides this service free of charge as a demonstration site for the Company's informatics tools which are used to run the site. MedWebPlus membership is free and available to anyone within the scope of the MedWebPlus code of conduct and within the free spirit of the Internet community.

Go to the top of this page

Books & Bookstores (links checked 04/02/2003)

• DiscountMedicalBooks.com
  http://www.discountmedicalbooks.com
  Textbooks, medical, scientific technical and professional books, PDA & software.
• MAJORSBOOKS.COM Online Bookstore.
  http://www.majorsbooks.com/store/home.jsp
  "We are the most complete Medical, Allied Health, Scientific & Technical bookstore on the web."
• MEDBOOKstore
  http://www.medbookstore.com/
  Medical books, CDROMS, electronic titles.

Clinical Practice (links checked 04/02/2003)

General

• Virtual Hospital: A digital library of health information
  http://www.vh.org/index.html
  "Virtual Hospital is a digital health sciences library created in 1992 at the University of Iowa to help meet the information needs of health care providers and patients. The goal of the Virtual Hospital digital library is to make the Internet a useful medical reference and health promotion tool for health care providers and patients. The Virtual Hospital digital library contains thousands of textbooks and booklets for health care providers and patients. The Virtual Hospital digital library also delivers Continuing Education (CE) to health care provider's offices and homes in a clinically relevant context at their convenience, thereby making CE more effective and efficient."

  Practice Guidelines

• National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC)
  http://www.guideline.gov/
  A public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. NGC is sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans.
• Health Services/Technology Assessment Text (NLM)
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat
  "The Health Services Technology/Assessment Texts (HSTAT) is a free, Web-based resource of full-text documents that provide health information and support health care decision making. HSTAT's audience includes health care providers, health service researchers, policy makers, payers, consumers and the information professionals who serve these groups."
• American College of Cardiology
  http://www.acc.org/clinical/statements.htm
  "ACC provides a framework of evidence-based clinical statements & guidelines developed by leaders in the field of cardiovascular medicine to help you address contemporary practice issues."
• Primary Care - Clinical Practice Guidelines
  http://medicine.ucsf.edu/resources/guidelines/
  "This site is for primary care providers. Clinical or practice guidelines are "quality-improving strategies". Sackett, DL et al in Evidence-based Medicine define them as "user-friendly statements that bring together the best external evidence and other knowledge necessary for decision-making about a specific health problem."

Go to the top of this page

Clinical Trials

• CenterWatch Clinical Trials Listing Service
  http://www.CenterWatch.Com/

  Clinical Alerts

• Clinical Alerts
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/clinical_alerts.html
  The National Library of Medicine (NLM) began offering clinical alert notices online in January 1991. Clinical alerts are provided to expedite the release of findings from the NIH-funded clinical trials where such release could significantly affect morbidity and mortality.

  Handbooks & Manuals

• The Merck Manual--Second Home Edition, Online Edition
  http://www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html
  "Explains disorders, who is likely to get them, their symptoms, how they're diagnosed, how they might be prevented, and how they can be treated; also provides information about prognosis. Based on the world's most widely used textbook of medicine — The Merck Manual — but written in everyday language by 300 outstanding contributors. Provided free of charge on the Internet by Merck & Co., Inc., as a public service on a non-profit basis."
• Online Clinical Calculators
  http://www.intmed.mcw.edu/clincalc.html

Consumer Information & Self-Help Groups (links checked 04/02/2003)

General


• Food and Nutrition Center
  http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic
  Offers publications and databases covering food safety, food and nutrition software, multimedia programs, and Healthy School Meals Training materials.
• Healthfinder
  http://www.healthfinder.gov/default.htm
  Consumer health information web site from the U.S. government.
• Healthtouch
  http://www.healthtouch.com/
  Offers a medication guide; guide to vitamins, supplements & natural medicine, and a Health Resource Directory. Provided by Medical Strategies, Inc., a business of Cardinal Health Inc., a Fortune 100 corporation based in Dublin, Ohio.
• MEDLINEplus
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
  "Find information on hundreds of diseases, conditions and wellness issues." This web site is sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. In addition to disease information it also includes a medical dictionary; a medical encyclopedia; links to hospital, doctor and dentist directories; links to the web sites or major medical associations and organizations; online publications and news; link to the Medline medical journal database.
• MedicineNet
  http://www.medicinenet.com
  Commercial web site with information on "Diseases & Conditions, Procedures & Tests, Medications, Dictionary, and tips on Healthy Living."
• MedWebplus: Consumer Health
  http://www.medwebplus.com/subject/Consumer_health.html
  Extensive directory of medical information web sites for consumers.
• WebMDHealth
  http://my.webmd.com/webmd_today/home/default
  Consumer-oriented medical information web site.

• Florida Medical Network
  http://www.floridamedicalnetwork.com/
  "The Florida Medical Network is a web site developed for the medical community and for the citizens of the State of Florida."
• Poisonsafe
  http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/poisonsafe/
  This web site explains the dangers of poisons to children 4 to 7 years old, as well as adults. "Icky the Dog" takes kids through an interactive series of pages describing what poisons are, where they are commonly found in the house, and how they can hurt children. Part of the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/)
• Quackwatch: Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisionmaking
  http://www.quackwatch.com/index.html
  "Quackwatch, Inc., a member of Consumer Federation of America, is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies. Its primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere." Don't fall victim to unproven medical treatments or therapies! I recommend this resource highly.
• SeekWellness
  http://www.seekwellness.com/
  Information about male and female sexual problems, incontinence, general health and medical conditions.
• American Board of Medical Specialties
  http://www.abms.org/
  "The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is an organization of 24 approved medical specialty boards. The intent of the certification of physicians is to provide assurance to the public that those certified by an ABMS Member Board have successfully completed an approved training program and an evaluation process assessing their ability to provide quality patient care in the specialty. The ABMS serves to coordinate the activities of its Member Boards and to provide information to others concerning issues involving specialization and certification of medical specialists." This web site allows the verification of the speicialty certification status of a Medical Doctor in the U.S.A.

  Directories Of Physicians & Specialists

  Smoking

• Alt.Support.Stop-Smoking (AS3) Newsgroup's Web Site
  http://www.swen.uwaterloo.ca/~as3/as3.html
  "Welcome to the Alt.Support.Stop-Smoking (AS3) Usenet Newsgroup's Web Site and Repost Archive. AS3 has earned the reputation as the friendliest newsgroup on the Internet. This is the site that may very well help YOU break the nicotine habit!"
• TobaccoFree.org
  http://www.tobaccofree.org/
• TIPS - CDC's Tobacco Information and Prevention Source
  http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/index.htm

Go to the top of this page

Death, Dying, End-of-Life (links checked 04/03/2003)

• End of Life
  http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/
  Maintained by the AARP, this site contains amny resources to assist with this difficult time.
• Eldercare Web
  http://www.elderweb.com/
  Extensive, searchable list of resources in all areas of Eldercare including end-of-life.
• Partnership For Caring: America's Voices For The Dying
  http://www.partnershipforcaring.org/HomePage/
  "Partnership For Caring: America's Voices For The Dying is a national nonprofit organization that partners individuals and organizations in a powerful collaboration to improve how people die in our society. Among other services, Partnership for Caring operates the only national crisis and information hotline dealing with end-of-life issues and provides state-specific living wills and medical powers of attorney. (Also called Advance Directives)"
• A Dying Person's Guide to Dying
  http://www.stanthonyshospice.com/patient/articles/guide_dying.htm
  Written by a physician dying of cancer, this is a well-written guide for anyone at the end of their life.
• Palliative Care & End of Life (from: HIV Insite)
  http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite.jsp?page=li-04-33
  This is a good source for information and web site links for assisted suicide, advance directives, hospice and pain management, viatical settlements, and other end-of-life issues.
• End of Life Care in HIV/AIDS (from: HIV Insite)
  http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite.jsp?page=kb-03-03-05
  Part of the HIV InSite Knowledge Base, published August 1998, this is a good source for information on vaious end-of-life issues such as hospice care, finances, psychosocial and spiritual concerns, and universal precautions and infection control in a hospice or home health care setting.
• The End of Life
  http://www.npr.org/programs/death/
  Spnsored by National Public Radio. Includes transcripts and audio of programs dealing with the end of life, a list of resources for people with life-threatening diseases and their families and caregivers, readings, and chance to tell your own story.
• WidowNet
  http://www.widownet.org/
  WidowNet is an information and self-help resource for, and by, widows and widowers. Topics covered include grief, bereavement, recovery, and other information helpful to people, of all ages, religious backgrounds and sexual orientations, who have suffered the death of a spouse or life partner.

Go to the top of this page