Health and Medicine
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/
This is the online presence of the government agency responsible for reducing health risks in the United States. The CDC is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. The website is consumer directed, and offers a number of health and safety topics, along with other health-related tools.
eMedicine http://www.emedicine.com/
This site, which is associated with WebMD, is aimed at physicians and other healthcare professionals. Its content undergoes four levels of physician peer review before publishing. The language is more advanced, the terms and subject headings requiring some level of professional understanding. However, the Consumer Health link on this website takes the user to its moreconsumer directed sister site, eMedicineHealth (see below).
As mentioned above, this is eMedicine’s consumer health site, and is also part of the WebMD network. The information contained is authoritative and reputable, however the organization of the site could be better. The Medications tab will take the user to the RxList website discussed below.
Healthfinder http://www.healthfinder.gov/
This website is consumer directed and comes from the US Department of Health and Human Services. It has a lot of good features. The Drug Interaction Checker link takes the user to a nice site called Drug Digest where you can not only check possible drug interactions, but also can find information on drugs, vitamins, herbs, and supplements, look at pill images to be sure you have the right drug, compare similar drugs and their side effects, and more. There is also a Health Library and Consumer Guides for various healthcare issues, including choosing a doctor or hospital, nursing homes, health insurance, etc.
Healthline http://www.healthline.com/
This is another consumer directed site. The search feature is nice in that it takes common language terms and maps them to the appropriate medical term, it also suggests both broader and narrower subject terms, plus an option called HealthMaps. This feature maps out further search options into easily understood diagrams and searches your choice on the web, resulting in a list of relevant information from various reputable sources all in one place. Users can also register to become members of the site. Registration is free, and means access to journals and magazines, email news alerts, medical blogs, and the ability to save articles and add notes and tags.
Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/
This is the website for the Mayo Clinic. It is consumer directed and easy to use. One nice feature on this website is the section called Treatment Decisions, which lays out the pros and cons of various treatment options for common medical issues; for example, birth control, a back pain guide, a carpal tunnel syndrome guide, etc. These guides are straightforward and easy to use.
MedicineNet http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp
This site is owned and operated by WebMD. All contributors must be degreed professionals with prior professional medical writing or editing experience. The website is consumer directed, sections include News, Diseases & Conditions, Symptoms & Signs, Procedures & Tests, Medications, Health & Living, and a medical dictionary. Information can be found by searching or browsing.
Medline Plus http://medlineplus.gov/
This is a good authoritative site from the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. It is consumer directed, both browse able and searchable, and offers a number of options, including information on a wide range of health topics, a medical dictionary and illustrated encyclopedia, drug information, current health news, directories to find doctors, dentists, and hospitals, and over 165 interactive patient tutorials, among other features.
Merck Manuals Online Medical Library http://www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html
This is the online version of the Merck Manual that many public libraries carry in print. It is clearly organized and easy to use, the language is accessible.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine http://nccam.nih.gov/
The NCCAM is the alternative medicine arm of the NIH (explained below). It is committed to exploring alternative medicine within the context of science and to circulating authoritative information on the subject. Clicking on the Health Information link will bring up a live chat option for those who need more information on complementary and alternative medicine.
National Institute of Health http://www.nih.gov/
The NIH, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, conducts and supports medical research. The most useful part of this website is the Health section. Health topics are indexed alphabetically, by subject categories, and demographically (Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Seniors’ Health, etc.). This section also includes a list of health hotlines, mostly toll free.
New York State Department of Health http://www.health.state.ny.us/
This is useful site for health related issues in New York State. Information includes doctor, hospital and nursing home
profiles, information on Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, and the NYS Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, a variety of forms in .PDF format, recent health related news, and more.
Physician Profile http://www.nydoctorprofile.com/welcome.jsp
Link from the NYS Department of Health website. Each physician profile contains a variety of information, but each must, by NYS law, contain at least information about a doctor’s medical education, any translation services available at office, and any legal actions taken against the doctor. Other information can include the practice’s name, address, and phone number, names of other doctors in the practice, hospital privileges, list of articles or research papers published by the doctor, any awards or community service activities, list of health plans the doctor accepts, and a personal statement about any of the information found in the profile. The site also includes a toll free phone number for the Office of Professional Medical Conduct for anyone wishing to lodge a complaint against a doctor. Search fields include name, field of medicine, hospital, county or borough, and city. Very useful site if choosing a doctor in NYS.
Pub Med http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed
Pub Med is a service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. It is aimed at professionals and can be used to find articles in professional, peer reviewed medical journals. Very few of these articles will be full text, so (for the most part) this database will not be useful to the average person who does not have access to either online or in print medical journals. However, it is the first choice for those interested in serious medical research.
RxList: the Internet Drug Index http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/hp.asp
This website contains pharmaceutical information and is also part of the WebMD network. It was founded by pharmacists, and works to produce credible and reliable information on brand name and generic drugs. The Pill Identifier section allows a user to identify mystery pills that might have lost their original packaging by imprint, color, and shape.
Savvy Senior http://www.savvysenior.org/
Covers many issues relevant to seniors in general, health being one of many. Clicking on the Health Resources section will bring up an extensive list of health related websites.
WebMD http://www.webmd.com/
There is a lot of information on this site, and the basic organization is good if you use the tabs at the top of the page. This is a credible health related website written at a consumer level. It also offers a number of health related blogs written by professionals.
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