University
of South Alabama Biomedical Library
SAMNET: Consumer Health Information Resources
SAMNET: Consumer Health Information Resources
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University
of South Alabama Biomedical Library SAMNET: Consumer Health Information Resources |
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http://www.aarp.org The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is a non-profit organization “dedicated to shaping and enriching the experience of aging for our members and for all Americans. The “Health & Wellness” section of AARP provides seniors with information in such areas as fitness, caregiving, nursing homes, and health insurance.
Achoo
ADA.org The American Dental Association (ADA) is the largest professional association of dentists in the United States. The “Public” section of ADA.org includes such features as “Oral Health Topics A-Z,” “ADA News Releases,” and special sections for kids, parents, mature adults, and teachers.
Alcoholics
Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous World Service is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization headquartered in New York, New York. Alcoholics Anonymous presents information about the Alcoholics Anonymous organization, its methods, and its programs. This site also includes general information about alcoholism.
All Allergy The CEO, editor, and designer of All
Allergy is Dr Harris Steinman, a South African allergist.
Alzheimer's
Association The largest private funder of Alzheimer’s research,
the Alzheimer's Association provides education and support for Alzheimer’s
victims, their families, and their caregivers. Besides providing information
about the Alzheimer’s Association itself, Alzheimer’s
Association includes sections that provide original-content information
for “People with Alzheimer’s,” “Family, Caregivers, & Friends,” “Physicians & Health
Care Professionals,” “Researchers,” and “Media.”
American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is a non-profit association composed of 6,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists and other physicians. Through its “Facts for Families” section, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry provides healthcare consumers with nearly 100 original-content publications dealing with topics ranging from “Making Daycare a Good Experience” to “Teen Suicide.” Official translations of “Facts for Families” are available in Spanish; unofficial translations are available in French and German.
American
Academy of Dermatology The American Academy of Dermatology is a membership organization comprised of 13,000 dermatologists in the United States and Canada.The bulk of the consumer-health information found on American Academy of Dermatology comes in the form of patient pamphlets found in the “Patient Education” section that is, itself, part of the Website’s “Patient Information” section. There are pamphlets covering specific skin diseases (i.e. “Acne,” “Psoriasis,” “Warts,”) as well as more general topics (i.e. “The Darker Side of Tanning,” “Mature Skin,” Poison Ivy, Sumac & Oak”). A few pamphlets are also available in Spanish.
American
Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics is a 55,000-member
association of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. American
Academy of Pediatrics ’ “You and Your Family” section
provides child and adolescent consumer-health information through, among
other resources, its “Public Education Brochures” and “The
Pediatric Internet” (a list of pediatric Websites reviewed by pediatricians).
The Website also allows consumers to purchase American Academy of Pediatrics
consumer-health books directly from the Academy.
American
Association of Poison Control Centers The American Association of Poison Control Centers is
a nationwide organization of poison centers and interested individuals.The “Poisoning
Prevention and Education” section of the Website provides poison-related
consumer-health information including a printable “Poison Prevention
Brochure,” “Poison Prevention Fact Sheets,” and “Prevention
Tips.” There is also a “Links” section which leads
to other poison resources on the Web.
American
Cancer Society The American Cancer Society is the largest source of private, nonprofit cancer research funds in the United States. American Cancer Society is the Web’s leading source for cancer information. The Website’s “Cancer Resource Center” provides consumers with general information about cancer (i.e. “Prevention & Risk Factors,” “Detection & Symptoms,” “Types of Treatment”) as well as information on specific forms of cancer. Information is available in both English and Spanish.
American
Council of the Blind The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is the largest U.S. organization for blind and visually impaired people. The American Council of the Blind’s “Helpful Resources” section provides information on such topics as “Catalogs of Products for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired,” “Guide Dog Schools and Associations,” and “Medical Information Sources on Macular Degeneration.”
American
Council on Science and Health The American Council on Science Health (ACSH) is an independent, non-profit consumer-education organization. Sections of American Council on Science and Health cover such topics as “Diseases,” “Environmental Health” “Food Safety,” and “Medical Care.” A main thrust of this Website is debunking what the ACSH sees as alarmist, unscientific stories concerning environmental and technological threats to human health.
American
Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association is a non-profit organization that conducts diabetes programs in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. The Web’s richest source of consumer-health information on diabetes, American Diabetes Association offers sections covering such diabetes-related topics as exercise, nutrition, clinical practice, and more. A “Virtual Grocery Store Tour” (sponsored by food manufacturers) teaches consumers about shopping for a diabetic.
American
Dietetic Association The American Dietetic Association (ADA) is a professional organization comprised of nearly 70,000 members, the majority of whom are Registered Dieticians (RD). Information for healthcare consumers is provided via the “Healthy Lifestyle” and “Knowledge Center” sections of American Dietetic Association . Information resources include “Daily Nutrition Tips,” “Nutrition Fact Sheets,” a “Good Nutrition Reading List,” and more.
American
Gastroenterological Association The American Gastroenterological Association is a professional association comprised of over 11,000 clinicians, researchers, and educators in the field of gastroenterology. The “Public” section of American Gastroenterological Association provides consumer-health information, some of it in the form of AGA Patient Wellness Brochures covering such topics as “Colorectal Cancer Screening,” “Irritable Bowel Syndrome,” and “What is Colonoscopy?” A section called “Digestive Health Message Boards” allows consumers to ask, and respond to, health questions, while the “Gastroenterological Locator Service” allows consumers to find gastroenterologists in their area.
American
Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a privately funded voluntary health organization with some four million volunteers and chapters throughout the United States. A leading Website in the areas of heart disease and stroke, American Heart Association provides a wealth of consumer-health information through its encyclopedic “Heart and Stroke A-Z Guide.” Addition information is provided via sections covering “Warning Signs,” “Family Health,” and “Risk Awareness.”
American
Lung Association The American Lung Association was founded in 1904 to fight tuberculosis. Besides major sections devoted to “Asthma,” “Tobacco Control,” and “Air Quality,” American Lung Association includes a “Diseases A to Z” section that provides information on over 100 lung diseases. A “Links” section points consumers to additional lung-related resources on the Web.
American
Medical Association The American Medical Association
is the largest physician-member organization in the United
States. Though American
Medical Association has a “Patients” section,
to a large extent the Association provides consumer-health
information via the Medem Website (see below).
The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) is the largest association of its kind in the U.S., representing approximately 80% of all doctors of podiatry in the country. The American Podiatric Medical Association “Foot Health Information” section provides information on over 40 topics related to foot health, including general and sports-related conditions. The “e-Newsroom” links users to APMA press releases as well as to foot-related full-text articles from newspapers, magazines, and other sources.
American
Psychological Association With nearly 160,000 members, the American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest psychologist member organization in the world. The “Public” section of American Psychological Association provides consumer-health information within ten broad areas of interest, including “Mind, Body, & Health,” “Minorities,” “Parenting & Family,” “Women.” Sections entitled “News” and “Press Releases” provide information on current topics and controversies from the world of psychology.
Arthritis
Foundation The Arthritis Foundation is a national, voluntary health organization with over 150 chapters and service points in the United States. The “Starting Points” and “Arthritis Answers” sections of Arthritis Foundation answer common questions about arthritis and provide information on such topics as medications, alternative and complimentary therapies, arthritis in children, and the specifics of the more than 100 forms of arthritis.
ASHA:
American Social Health Association Founded in 1914, the mission of the American Social Health Association (ASHA) is “to stop sexually transmitted diseases and their harmful consequences to individuals, families and communities. The consumer-health content of ASHA: American Social Health Association is found in the Website’s “Facts & Answers about STDS” section. Here consumers will find detailed information on over a dozen major sexually transmitted diseases.
Autism
Society of America The Autism Society of America (ASA) was founded in 1965 and now has 18,000 members and over 220 chapters in the United States. According to its own literature, “ASA is dedicated to increasing public awareness about autism and the day-to-day issues faced by individuals with autism, their families and the professionals with whom they interact. The “Information” section of Autism Society of America offers twenty-some information packages under the following headings: “Understanding The Diagnosis,” “Education,” “Treatment Options,” and “Adults with Autism.” Some of this information is available in Spanish. Though the quality of the consumer-health information on this Website is high, the amount provided is not large and all of it is in .pdf format, which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Best
Doctors Best Doctors is a fee-based service intended to help healthcare consumers locate the best doctors by medical specialty and location. The heart of Best Doctors are its two “Find a Doctor” features: “Best DocFinder” costs $25 and involves an Internet search. “AccuMatch” costs $975 and involves nurses who work with a patient or a patient’s representative to locate the best doctor for that particular patient. Best Doctors conducts nationwide surveys of doctors to find out which doctors are most recommended by their peers. Only board-certified doctors are included in Best Doctors , and doctors who have been sanctioned by state medical boards are excluded.
Best
Hospitals Finder
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/health/hosptl/tophosp.htm Best Hospitals Finder is a service of U.S. News Online, the Website of the news magazine U.S. News & World Report. The The bulk of this site is devoted to providing information about top U.S. hospitals. Best Hospitals Finder also includes the text of “Best Hospital Articles” from U.S. News & World Report as well as links to information on various medical topics.
The
Breast Clinic Based in Glasgow, Scotland, The Breast Clinic reflects the efforts of Dr. Stephen Kettlewell (MB, ChB, FRCS), “a surgeon with a specialist interest in breast disease and breast cancer.This easy-to-navigate Website is divided into three sections (“General Information,” “Breast Disease,” and “Visitor Features”) which together provide a complete picture of breast diseases and their treatments.
California
Poison Control System Administered by the University of California, San Francisco, School of Pharmacy, the California Poison Control System (CPCS) is a consortium of California poison control centers. The “General Public” section of California Poison Control System provides a wealth of information on how to prevent poisoning, first aid for poisoning, and poisonous plants and animals. Basic poisoning-emergency information is available in 12 languages. The hotline numbers found on this Website are valid in California only.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Health Care Financing Administration is the U.S. Government agency responsible for administering Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The “Information for Beneficiaries” link is the most direct way to access the consumer information contained on Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services . Besides providing information on such topics as “Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plans” and “Maternal AIDS Consumer Information,” Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services makes numerous links to its companion Websites Medicare and Insure Kids Now.
Founded in 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) has sought to educate the public and lawmakers in the areas of food safety and nutrition. The focus of Center for Science in the Public Interest is food safety and nutrition. To this end the Website offers “Nutrition Quizzes,” reports on food safety and additives, and “News Updates” that often criticize mainstays of the American diet.
Centers
for Disease Control
ClinicalTrials.gov Developed by the National Library of Medicine, ClinicalTrials.gov is a service of the National Institutes of Health. ClinicalTrials.gov provides information about thousands of clinical studies; most of these are sponsored by Federal agencies, but there are plans to add studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry as well. Consumers can search for clinical trials by keyword or browse by either condition or sponsor. Once a study is found, ClinicalTrials.gov provides information on the study’s purpose, its eligibility requirements, location and contact information, and more.
Discoveryhealth.com Discoveryhealth.com is an offshoot of the Discovery Health Channel, a commercial television channel that delivers programming relating to health, medicine, and wellness. Within the “Disease and Conditions” section of Discoveryhealth.com, four online encyclopedias (Diseases & Conditions, Injuries, Surgery, and Medical Tests) provide substantial, signed articles on hundreds of health-related topics; in most cases, the authors of these articles are medical doctors.
DoctorDirectory.com A privately owned company based in Asheville, North Carolina, DoctorDirectory.com provides direct-to-consumer and direct-to-physician interactive marketing services to the healthcare industry. Headed by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, drkoop.com is a commercial Website that “strives to be the most trusted and complete source of consumer healthcare information and services on the Internet. Sections such as “Family Health,” “Health & Wellness,” and “Conditions & Concerns” provide access to original-content consumer-health information, message boards, health tools (i.e. “Asthma Calculator,” “Ideal Weight Calculator,” etc.), and links to health resources which have been rated by drkoop.com’s own experts.
Epilepsy
Foundation
extendedcare.com extendedcare.com is a service of Extended Care Information Network, an Internet company that connects “hospitals and consumers with extended-care providers, including nursing homes, assisted-living and other senior-living residences, and home health care agencies.The consumer-health-content of extendedcare.com is found under the site’s “For Everyone” link. The “Informed Living” section provides signed articles (most written by social workers or other healthcare professionals) on such care-related topics as “Healthy Sexuality,” “Financial Planning,” “Pharmacy Facts,” and “Health Maturity.” The “Library” section provides access to chapters (most written by M.D.s or Ph.D.s) with titles such as “Influenza Vaccine Update,” “High Blood Pressure,” “Drug Interactions,” and so on.
Family
Doctor Based in New Zealand, Family Doctor is funded by private individuals and overseen by an editorial board comprised of medical professionals. Consumer-health information is what Family Doctor is all about, and the database-driven nature of this Website makes it easy to find pertinent information whether you search by one of the broad categories (“Women’s Health,” “Sports Health,” etc.) or one of the “A to Z Conditions.” All the consumer-health information provided by Family Doctor is signed, dated, and written in an easy-to-understand, non-intimidating style.
familydoctor.org familydoctor.org is a service of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a national association of family doctors with over 93,000 members in the United States. An especially bountiful source of consumer-health information, familydoctor.org provides consumers with numerous “Health Info Handouts,” “AAFP Family Health Facts,” and “Self-Care Flowcharts.” (The latter are decisions trees that help patients decide what steps to take based on symptoms and other factors.) Many of the “Health Info Handouts” are available in Spanish as well as English.
FirstGov A service of the United States government, FirstGov is “the first-ever government website to provide the public with easy, one-stop access to all online U.S. Federal Government resources. The “Healthy People” section of FirstGov provides access to U.S. government information on health (via healthfinder), health insurance, and disease (via National Institutes of Health: Health Information).
Food
And Drug Administration The
United States Food And Drug Administration
(FDA) is the federal agency charged
with regulating food, medical devices,
drugs, biologicals (vaccines, blood
products, etc.), animal feed and
drugs, cosmetics, and radiation-emitting
consumer and medical products.
The FDA is under the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. For
the areas over which the FDA has
regulatory control (see above), Food
And Drug Administration provides
access to extensive consumer-health
information. Most of this information
can be accessed via the site’s “Consumer,” “Patients,” “Women”, “Seniors,” and “Kids” sections.
Visitors to the site can also access
the full text of FDA Consumer,
a magazine published by the FDA.
Galaxy Founded
in 1994, Galaxy is
a for-profit Web directory owned
by a subsidiary of FOX Entertainment
and a group of private investors.
Similar to Yahoo! in
that it covers a full range of
subject areas, Galaxy provides
links to consumer-health information
via its “Medicine” section
(though within this section there
is no division between consumer
and professional information).
Once in the “Medicine” section,
consumers can click down through
the directory structure until they
find a link to the information
they need. There is no original-content
health information on Galaxy.
Go
Ask alice!
The
Health Care Financing Administration
is the U.S. Government agency responsible
for administering Medicare, Medicaid,
and the State Children’s
Health Insurance Program. The “Information for
Beneficiaries” link is the
most direct way to access the consumer
information contained on Health Care Financing Administration . Besides
providing information on
such topics as “Medicare
Private Fee-for-Service Plans” and “Maternal
AIDS Consumer Information,” Health Care Financing Administration makes numerous
links to its companion Websites Medicare and Insure
Kids Now . Austin,
Texas based HealthAnswers is
a for-profit company that provides
consumer-health information in
conjunction with Physicians
Weekly, Reuters Health Information,
Gold Standard Multimedia, and other
content partners. In the
nascent genre of for-profit consumer-health
Websites, HealthAnswers is
a classic of the type. Via
the site’s “Health
Centers,” “Health Topics,” and “Diseases/Conditions” sections,
consumers can find large amounts
of original-content consumer-health information
on thousands of topics. The site
also features a drug database in both
English and Spanish, a collection
of some 2000 audio/video segments
on various health topics,
health chat rooms, and current
health news. Any visitor who completes
a free registration can set up
a customized “My Health” page.
helathatoz.com Medical
Network, Inc. is the parent company
of both the consumer-oriented healthAtoZ and
a sister Website for healthcare
professionals, MedConnect.com (also know
as healthAtoZProfessional). Founded
by an M.D., healthAtoZ is
overseen by a Medical Advisory
Board composed of medical doctors
and pharmacists. Within sections
entitled “Your Family,” “Condition
Forums,” “Wellness
Centers,” and “Healthy
Lifestyles,” healthAtoZ provides
both original-content information
as well as links to rated and reviewed
Websites. Other features include “my
healthatoz,” health-related
message boards, online chats with
health experts, and assorted calculators
(weight, fertility, fitness, etc.).
HealthCentral California-based HealthCentral is
a for-profit health Website that
generates profits through advertising and
direct sales of health-related
products. HealthCentral’s chief medical officer,
an M.D., is responsible for “medical
content and quality related
issues” on the Website. A
typical large, for-profit health
Website, HealthCentral provides access to consumer-health
information via a “Conditions & Topics” section
as well as through “Topic
Centers” and a searchable “Library and
Encyclopedias” section. There
are also sections that offer health
calculators, access to support
communities, drug information,
and information on alternative health
topics. At times the lines between
consumer-health information and
product sales are blurred
on this Website.
healthfinder A
service of the United States
Department of Health and Human
Services, healthfinder is “a
gateway to selected consumer
health and human services information
resources provided by U.S.
government agencies and other organizations
serving the public interest. As
a gateway Website, healthfinder provides
links to resources rather than
original-content information. The
bulk of the resources linked to
are U.S. Government Websites. Every
resource linked to must meet the
criteria of the healthfinder selection
policy, which consumers may read
on the healthfinder site. Consumers can find
information on a wide variety of
health topics by using the healthfinder search engine, by using the
site’s alphabetical index,
or by exploring various categories.
A good deal of health information
in Spanish is accessible via healthfinder. HealthGrades “educates
and empowers consumers by offering
free objective ratings and in-depth
profiles that allow them to evaluate
and select providers based on quality.
The heart of HealthGrades are
its “Healthcare Report Cards” which
rate hospitals, physicians, nursing
homes, home health agencies, hospice
programs, and fertility clinics.
Consumers can search for report
cards in a number of ways, including
by name, state, ZIP code, medical
specialty, and so on. The site
also includes a “Conditions
A-Z” section.
HealthHelper.com California-based HealthHelper.com provides
health information both to consumers
and healthcare preofessionals.
The main division of HealthHelper.com are “Complimentary
Health,” “Conventional
Health,” “Health4Youth,” and “Vitamins
and Supplements.” This site
is particularly strong in presenting
information on complimentary
(alternative) medicine, and the
information it provides is generally well
balanced. The “Ask Nurse
Nancy” feature allows consumers
to post medical questions
to a registered nurse, and the “Health4Youth” section
presents health information
aimed at younger children, teens,
and parents.
HealthWeb A
project of the health-sciences
libraries of the Greater Midwest
Region (GMR) of the National Network
of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM)
and of the Committee for Institutional
Cooperation, HealthWeb organizes
and provides access to evaluated,
non-commercial, health-related,
Internet-accessible resources.
A gateway site, HealthWeb primarily
provides links to Web resources
rather than original-content information.
The simple, easy-to-navigate HealthWebb
homepage lists sixty-some categories
of health information. The links
found under these categories point
to sites aimed at healthcare professionals
as well as sites for healthcare
consumers. California-based HealthWorld
Online promotes what it calls “Self-Managed
Care,” an approach that strives
for a synthesis of alternative
and conventional healthcare.
Organized around the concept
of small town, HealthWorld Online is divided into such areas
as “Fitness Center,” “University,” “Marketplace,” “Alternative
Medicine,” and so on. Though
there is some inclusion of conventional
medicine, HealthWorld Online clearly favors alternative
healthcare and provides large
doses of information on alternative-health
therapies, medicines, diets,
lifestyles, and providers.
Founded in 1995, the Health on the Net Foundation (HON) is a Swiss non-profit organization whose mission “is to guide the growing community of healthcare consumers and providers on the World Wide Web to sound, reliable medical information and expertise. A gateway to health information, HON features MedHunt (an intelligent search engine designed to locate Web-based health information) and HONselect (a database of quality health information on the Web.)
InteliHealth Billing
itself as “The Trusted Source,” InteliHealth strives to provide reliable
consumer-health information from sources
that include Harvard Medical School
and the University of Pennsylvania School
of Dental Medicine. InteliHealth is
owned and partly funded by Aetna
U.S. Healthcare. Consumers can
access consumer-health information
under such categories as “Men’s
Health,” “Women’s
Health,” “Children’s
Health,” and “Senior’s
Health,” or they can search
by condition. InteliHealth offers health-related chat,
a “Drug Resource Center,” an “Ask
the Doc” feature, health
news, and free health emails on
nearly twenty topics. Owned by
the Mayo Foundation for Medical
Education and Research through
its subsidiary HealthOasis,
Inc. Consumers may access original-content
consumer-health information
via “Diseases and Conditions,” “Condition
Centers,” or “Healthy
Living Centers.” MayoClinic.com allows
consumers to search for information
on over 8,000 prescription and
over-the-counter medications via
its “Drug Information” feature, while
a “First-Aid & Self-Care
Guide” covers dozens
of major and minor health problems.
Medem A
joint venture among eight of the
leading medical societies in
the United States, Medem “provides
innovative tools and secure technologies
for physicians to provide patients
access to trusted health information
via their doctor's own Web site.
The heart of Medem is
its “Medical Library.” Divided
into four sections--“Life Stages,” “Diseases
and Conditions,” “Therapies
and Health Strategies,” and “Health and
Society”--the “Medical
Library” consist of peer-reviewed information
provided by medical societies.
MedicineNet.com A
for-profit company founded
in 1996, MedicineNet.com claims that all of its “health
and medical information
is written, reviewed and
/or edited by one or more board-certified physicians.
Similar to many other large commercial
consumer-health Websites, MedicineNet.com offers
information on diseases and conditions,
wellness, medications,
and so on. Visitors who join
the “MemberAdvantage” program
for $9.95 per year
can obtain help searching for
information from the MedicineNet.com “Healthcare Advocates,” a
panel of “70+ Board Certified Physicians.”
Medscape Medscape is a provider of digital health records and online health information. Medscape’s mission is “to improve healthcare by delivering products and services that provide reliable, digital clinical data and up-to-date information to healthcare professionals and consumers.” The editor in chief of Medscape is Dr. George Lundberg, M.D., former editor of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. Although Medscape is aimed more at healthcare professionals than at consumers, it contains a wealth of health information for the diligent consumer. Medscape offers a large and searchable collection of free, full-text medical articles as well as consumer-oriented information. To access much |
