WEBSITES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION

 Basic information

description

People who look for health and medical information have many choices on the Internet. It is important to know the source and if it is reliable. Look at the web page address. The following types of addresses often have excellent websites:

• Addresses that end in .gov are hosted by a government entity, such as the United States government.
• Addresses that end in .org are hosted by nonprofit organizations, such as the American Heart Association.
• Addresses ending in .edu are provided by educational institutions (e.g., university or college).

Commercial websites (.com) can be good sources for medical information also, but should be read with some caution. It is often helpful to compare several different web resources on the same topic.

Health information obtained from the Internet is not a substitute for your health care provider's instructions and advice. Words on a computer screen cannot replace the knowledge and experience that your health care provider can share with you.

SELECTED WEBSITES

This is a selected list of websites that provide medical information. There are also many others (sponsored by different types of organizations) that are useful for valid and quality medical information, patient education materials, and helpful ideas for managing your health.

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov
  • Provides information on health problems, preventive medicine, traveler's health, and current health news.
• Family Doctor www.familydoctor.org
  • The American Academy of Family Physicians provides information for general educational purposes for the whole family. All of the information has been written and reviewed by physicians and patient education professionals.
• American Dental Association www.ada.org/public
  • The American Dental Association provides information on a variety of topics about your teeth and oral health.
• Healthfinder www.healthfinder.gov
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with other federal agencies designed this website as a gateway to consumer health information. It provides access to selected online publications, clearinghouses, databases, websites, and support and self-help groups. It also links to government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable information for the public. Resources in Spanish are located in the section, "Espanol."
• Medem www.medem.com
  • Medem is the website project of several organizations—including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It is a comprehensive and trusted source of health care content on the Internet.
• Medlineplus www.medlineplus.gov
  • A website established by the National Library of Medicine, the world's largest biomedical library and creator of the Medline database. An alphabetical list of medical and health topics consists of hundreds of specific diseases, conditions and wellness issues. Health information in Spanish is also included.
• National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) www.4woman.gov
  • A project of the Office on Women's Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NWHIC is a gateway to women's health information resources that allows visitors to read and download a wide variety of materials developed by federal government agencies and private sector resources.
• Mayo Clinic www.mayoclinic.com
  • Sponsored by the Mayo Clinic, this site offers general information about health and medical topics. New information is added daily.
• National Cancer Institute www.cancernet.nci.nih.gov
  • A source of current cancer information for patients and anyone interested in learning more about this topic.
• National Health Information center www.health.gov
  • This site is run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It provides links to many organizations that have information about specific medical topics.

Special Notes: