How to Search for Medical Information
by Frank Kellermann, Mary Zammarelli & Robert Balliot
http://204.17.98.73/midlib/www.htm
Discusses how to locate medical information. Divided into three parts covering
specific web sites for locating drug information, information on specific
diseases, medical statistics, medical related news, and doctor's credentials.
An extensive bibliography of "notable" web sites and print resources has been
added at the end.
Researching Medical Literature on the Web by Gloria Miccioli
http://www.llrx.com/features/medical.htm
and
Update to Researching
Medical Literature on the Web by Gloria Miccioli
http://www.llrx.com/features/medical2.htm
The author reviews several methods of accessing medical information via the Web.
Her first article reviews accessing MEDLINE via the Web. MEDLINE is the
electronic index providing citations and abstracts of biomedical
journals. The second article includes an excellent analysis of ten primary
web sites providing access to medical information.
healthfinder™
http://www.healthfinder.gov/
Sponsored by the Dept. of Health & Humans Services, a
gateway web site that links to a broad range of consumer health
and human services information.
DR. Koop's Community
http://www.drkoop.com/
Good health and wellness information from a former surgeon general of the United States.
Mayo
Health O@sis
http://www.mayohealth.org/
Provides reliable health and wellness information from the Mayo
Clinic.
MedicineNet
http://www.medicinenet.com/
Developed by Information Network, Inc. and organized into the
following categories: Health Living; Diseases & Treatments,
Procedures & Tests, Medications, Medical Dictionary, and News.
MEDLINEplus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
MEDLINEplus is the National Library of Medicine's web site to consumer health information.
The web site includes health topics, drug information dictionaries, and directories.
A selective list of health information sources from the NLM and other organizations.
Medscape
http://www.medscape.com/
Medscape, Inc., is a separate company of SCP Communications,
Inc.,a publishing company specializing in the needs of
the pharmaceutical and health care industries. Access to
Medscape is free, but you must register to use the site. You can
navigate the web site by using the search engine or browse the
subject arrangement of health sources. Provides links to
articles, detailed health fact sheets, a glossary of medical
terms, and a list of toll free hotlines.
NetWellness
http://www.netwellness.com/
A consumer health information network founded by University of
Cincinnati Medical Center and now a collaborative effort with
Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University.
Provides an extensive "Ask an Expert Service".
Full Text Books
http://www.mc.uky.edu/MedLibrary/InfoResrcs/info_ftbooks.htm
Links to full text books on the web.
INFOMEDICAL
Dictionaries
http://home.ipoline.com/~guoli/home/in_dict.htm
Links to a variety of dictionaries, information for patients, medical
terms, and the Merck Manual.
Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/
Contains the 17th edition of "The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and
Therapy" (c1999). The Merck Manual is the most widely used medical
text.
Merck Manual of Medical
Information-Home Edition
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_home
Based on the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy 16th ed. The Merck Manual of Medical
Information (c1997) tranforms the medical text into commonly used
English for the layperson.
Merriam Webster Online
http://www.m-w.com/
Links to the WWWWebster Dictionary and the WWWebster Thesaurus.
PubList
http://www.unmc.edu/library/othdata.html
Links to health and medical publications available on the web.
StudyWeb: Reference Medical
http://studyweb.com/Reference
Listing of medical reference tools available on the WWW.
WorldWideWeb
Acronym and Abbreviation Server
http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/acronyms/index.html
Keyword searching for definitions of acronyms.
PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
Provides free access to Medline. Medline is the National Library
of Medicine's bibliographic database, containing citations
and abstracts from over 4,300 biomedical journals. You can
view a listing of journals in PubMed for which links to
the full text have been provided
Journal LinkOut Providers
Free Medical Journals.com
http://www.freemedicaljournals.com
Free Medical Journals: Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/ej.html
A selected list of free full-text online electric medical journals
with the emphasis on journals that are included in Medline.
Free Online Full-text Articles: HighWire Press
http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/freeart.dtl
Highwire maintains one of the largest archives of free full-text
scientific journals.
FindLaw:
Legal Subjects: Health Law: Publications: Journals, Newsletters and Articles
http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/19health/publications.html
Links to health related journals, newsletters, and current news
sources.
FirstGov
http://www.firstgov.gov/
GPO Access: WINSLOW State Library of
Ohio
http://winslo.state.oh.us:80/gpo/
Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet
http://thomas.loc.gov/
U.S.
House of Representatives
http://www.house.gov/
U.S.
Senate
http://www.senate.gov/
FindLaw: Legal Subjects: Health Law: Government Agencies
Statistical Resources Guide: Health Statistics
University
of Washington: HealthLinks: National Health &
Social Statistics
http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/19health/gov_agencies.html
http://www.mnsfld.edu/depts/lib/hstats.html
by Larry Schankman, Government Documents Librarian, Mansfield University Library.
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/statistics/natl.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.hhs.gov/
The primary agency protecting health and providing human
services. The web site includes links to HHS Agencies, to the
healthfinder; a gateway to consumer health information
services, news releases, speeches, and HHS budgetary
information.
HHS
Office of Inspector General
http://www.hhs.gov/progorg/oig/
Links to special fraud alerts, medicare advisory bulletins,
inspection reports, and advisory opinions. You can access
this page by typing in the URL, or by linking to the HHS
Home Page select Related Sites, select OS,and
scan down the list to OIG -Office of the Inspector General.
Click on OIG Electronic Reading Room to start your research.
CDC:
Centers for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/
Links to health information, traveler's health advisory,
publications, data and statistics.
CDC
Wonder
http://wonder.cdc.gov/
Access to CDC reports, guidelines, and other publications.
CDC:
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Reports
http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr/
CDC: National Center for Health Statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/
Includes Data on Aging, National Hospital Discharge Surveys,
U.S. Life Tables, the Top 10 Downloads, and Tabulated State Data.
CDC:
National Center for Health Statistics: Other
Sites
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/sites.htm
Expansive list of links to health-related information.
Includes
FEDSTATS
and
The Whitehouse SOCIAL STATISTICS BRIEFING ROOM.
Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov/
The FDA regulates food, cosmetics, medicines and
medical devices, feed and drugs for pets and farm animals.
Site links to press releases, issues of the FDA Consumer
Magazine, tobacco regulatory information, and toxicology
research. The FDA Reference Room includes links to: Laws, CFR,
Federal Register, Dockets, and FDA Manuals and Publications.
HCFA: Health Care Financing Administration
NIH: National Institutes of Health: Health Information
U.S.
Department of Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
WHO:World Health Organization
http://www.hcfa.gov/
The federal agency that administers the Medicare, Medicaid, and
Child Health Insurance Programs. Site includes links to Laws and
Regulations, and Statistics and Data. HCFA is undertaking
an effort to provide electronic versions of Program Manuals on the Web site,
see
Medicare & Medicaid Program Manuals. Your Public Library, Government Documents
Department may receive these manuals or you can purchase them.
http://www.nih.gov/health/
Links to many health information services provided by NIH
including
MEDLINEplus and
ClinicalTrials.gov.
http://www.osha.gov/
Links to workplace injury and illness statistics and other
safety and health sites. Includes the OSH Act, interpretive letters,
compliance directives, and regulations. [You can search for OSHA enforcement
inspections by company name. Access the Subject Index and then click on
Establishment Search. Enter the name of the company you wish to investigate.]
http://www.who.int/
Links to information on infectious diseases, health policies,
and statistical data.
Drug
InfoNet
http://www.druginfonet.com/
Links to healthcare and pharmaceutical information. Organized
into subtopics including: Drug and Disease Information,
Health Care News, Associations, Medical Schools, and Hospitals
Online.
MEDLINEplus: Drug Information
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html
A guide to over 9.000 prescription and over-the-counter medications.
PDR.net for Consumers
http://consumer.pdr.net/consumer/index.htm
Physicians's Desk Reference for Consumers, an authoritative source of FDA-approved
information on prescription drugs. The web site includes links to information about doctors,
medical dictionary, clinical trial information, and health news.
PharmInfoNet:
Pharmaceutical Information
Network
http://pharminfo.com/
Includes a search engine and a directory of subject
categories. The categories include: Drug Information, Glossary,
Disease Resources and Centers, Discussion Groups, and
PharmLinks.
Rx List: The Internet Drug Index
http://www.rxlist.com
Search by drug names, medical terminology and keywords.
American Hospital Directory
http://www.ahd.com
The American Hospital Directory provides on-line, comparative data for most hospitals.
The database is built from Medicare claims data, cost reports, and other public use files
obtained from the federal Health Care Financing Administration. Includes free and fee based
services.
Find a Hospice Program
http://www.nho.org/Directory/
Sponsored by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Search by state or city and
you can find a list of the local Hospice's in the surrounding area that serve
that city or county.
HCFA - Nursing Home Compare
http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.asp
The primary purpose of this tool is to provide detailed information about the
performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country.
Hospital Select
http://www.hospitalselect.com/
Sponsored by Medical-Net,Inc. and the American Medical
Association. Enables you to search for a hospital by name and state.
Hospital WEB
http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/hospitalweb.shtml
Created by the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General
Hospital includes a growing list of hospitals with web sites. .
Quality Check: Online Directory of Healthcare Organizations
http://wwwb.jcaho.org/directry/
Sponsored by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
You can conduct a directory search to locate hospitals, home care, long term care,
and ambulatory care information.
Veterans Health Administration: Facilities Directory
http://www.va.gov/sta/guide/home.asp
Veterans Health Administration Facilities Directory.
AMA Physician Select:
On-Line Doctor Finder
http://www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.html
Provides information on virtually every licensed physician in
the United States and its possessions, including more than
650,000 doctors of medicine (MD). All physician credential data
have been verified for accuracy.
CertifiedDoctor Verification Service: American Board of Medical Specialties:
http://www.certifieddoctor.org/verify.html
This service allows the public to verify the board certification status, location
by city and state and specialty of any physician certified by one or more of the 24 Member
Boards of the ABMS.
DocFinder
http://www.docfinder.org/
A health professional licensing database sponsored by the AIM-
Administrators in Medicine, Association of State Medical
Board Executive Directors. Includes Licensee Profile and Status for several
states.
Doctor Directory
http://www.doctordirectory.com
Doctordirectory.com offers consumers a point and click access to a listing of
the doctor's name, specialty, address, telephone number, map to the office,
board certification, medical school, residency, fellowship, secondary specialty,
office hours, languages spoken, affiliated hospitals and health plans accepted.
Doctors Who's Who
http://www.doctorswhoswho.com/medical_network/state_licensing_boards/index.htm
Many state medical boards are posting searchable directories of doctors on their web pages.
Approximately 36 states are listed under the State Licensing Board Section. There are
direct links to the individual state medical board sites.
HealthGrades.com™ Healthcare Rating
http://www.healthgrades.com
You can search the Healthcare Report Cards and Provider Profiles for information on
physicians, hospitals, home health agencies, etc. It is possible to review
a quality rating for a specific physician or search for a physician based on ratings.
Ohio State Medical Board License Search
http://www.state.oh.us/scripts/med/license/Query.stm
A searchable directory of medical licensees. Search by name or by the license number. You
can verify the licensure of an individual and review any medical board notations
on any formal actions. Review the Consumers Guide at
http://www.state.oh.us/med/consumers.htm
for a description of the complaint
process and the disciplinary process.
Ohio Board of Nursing Licensure Verification
Service
http://www.state.oh.us/scripts/nur/query.asp
Used to check the licensure status of a nurse. You must enter either the nurse's
social security number or license number.
Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure
http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/kbml/
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure uses a telephone verification system for physicians,
physician assistants and athletic trainers. The web site provides a
description of the Interactive Voice Response system.
Kentucky Board of Nursing
http://www.kbn.state.ky.su/
The Kentucky Board of Nusing uses a telepone verification system for nurses.
You must know either the Kentucky license or the social security number to conduct a query.
The web site provides a description of the Interactive Voice Response System.
FindLaw: Medical Images
http://medpics.findlaw.com/index.cfm
Use the search box to locate medical
illustrations and exhibits from a
database of over 10,000 images. The
illustrations can be easily inserted into
a word processing document or
PowerPoint presentation.
Medical Images on the Web
http://www.uncc.edu/~jvanoate/med/medimage.htm
A collection of links to medical images.
Health & Medicine: Anatomy & Physiology
http://www.re-Quest.net/health/anatomy/index.htm
Health on the Net (HON) Medical Images & Movies
National Library of Medicine: Visible Human Project
CataLaw: Legal Topics: Health & Welfare Law
http://www.catalaw.com/topics/Health.shtml
A directory of health law sources with international coverage.
FindLaw: Legal Topics: Health Law
http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/19health/index.html
A guide to health law sources with keyword searching capabilities.
Hardin
Library for Health Sciences, University of Iowa: Hardin Meta Directory of Internet Health Sources
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/index.html
A meta directory that ranks the best sites that list health sites.
Law and Politics: Internet Guide-Medical Database
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5011/medical.html
MEL
(Michigan Electronic Library): Health Information Resources
http://mel.lib.mi.us/health/
Yale
University: Cushing/Whitney Medical Library: Selected Internet Resources in Biomedicine
http://www.med.yale.edu/library/sir/
Biomedicine and Health in the News
University of Connecticut Health Center
Library
http://library.uchc.edu/bhn/index.html
Provides quick access to the biomedical, scientific and health journal
literature referenced in newspaper articles appearing in the New York Times.
CNN Health
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/
Med Watch
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety.htm
The FDA Enforcement Report is published weekly by the
Food and Drug Administration,
U.S. Public Health Service, Department of Health
and Human Services. It contains information on actions
taken in connection with agency regulatory activities,
including all FDA-classified recalls.
Reuters
Health Information Services
http://www.reutershealth.com/
You can access Reuters Health eLine, consumer health news
articles, for free. The Reuters Medical News and Clinical
Pharmacology Drug Database require a subscription.
American Bar Association, Health Law Section
http://www.abanet.org/health/home.html
American
Health Lawyers Association
http://www.healthlawyers.org/home.htm
American
College of Law & Medicine
http://aclm.org/
American
Medical Association
http://www.ama-assn.org/
American
Society of Law, Medicine &
Ethics
http://www.aslme.org/
Comparison of Health Information Megasites
http://henry.ugl.lib.umich.edu/megasite/toc.html
Provides links to health related web sites.
HealthWeb
http://healthweb.org/
Provides links to evaluated resources. Organized by topic.
Searching the Web
http://www.unmc.edu/library/medsearch.html
Provides links to general and specialized search engines.