Workshop handout

Medical Information on the Internet

Presented by
Melissa Martin, Science and Industry Section
San Diego Public Library

This presentation focuses on finding medical information on the Internet--looking up a physician, finding drug information, researching a disease or disorder, and finding information on health and wellness. Below is a list of additional websites to find more information on the Internet. The resources presented in this workshop are not a substitute for medical advice; you should seek the advice of a medical professional about your particular condition or if you have any questions. The websites shown here and in the workshop are provided for informational purposes only.

This class is one of a series of Internet workshops offered by the Central Library of the San Diego Public Library. Information about other classes and events is available at the San Diego Public Library website.

Class Links

General resources

Health and Wellness Resource Center - This subscription database is available to patrons at San Diego Public Library locations, and can also be accessed from home with a valid library card number and PIN. Search for drug information, read current news headlines on health topics, look up medical terms and find a hospital; includes some links to commercial sites; lengthy articles can be searched by date, search term(s) are highlighted and entries include source references, bibliographies, images and glossaries.

National Library of Medicine/Medlineplus - A great start for finding medical information; health topics are searchable by keyword or subject, with clear pictures and simple explanations; includes links to clinical trials, headlines and more. Drug information is provided by United States Pharmacopeia (USP), and includes drug warnings and recalls. You can look up a medical specialist in directories from the American Medical Association, American Dental Association, State Medical Licensing boards, American Board of Medical Specialties, etc. Includes dictionaries, hospital directories, a nursing home comparison website and an assisted living facility directory. This site is coordinated by the National Library of Medicine, a government agency run by the National Institutes of Health under the Department of Health and Human Services.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Timely information about health issues that affect the general population.

Healthfinder - A website with information available in English and Spanish.

California Patient's Guide - A guide to your rights as a patient. Includes topics such as confidentiality, informed consent, and second opinions.

Finding reliable information on the Internet

The Health On the Net Foundation (HON), created in 1995, is a not-for-profit organization. HON's mission is to guide the user to useful and reliable online medical and health information. HON's list of eight principles sets ethical standards for Web site developers, such as information provided only by medically trained and qualified professionals and citing sources for all data provided. You can also search this website for medical information and images.

Among HON's distinguishing features are two widely-used medical search tools, MedHunt© and HONselect©, and the HON Code of Conduct (HONcode©) for the provision of authoritative, trustworthy Web-based medical information.

CAPHIS, the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section, is a section of the Medical Library Association, an association of health information professionals. Their site refers you to websites chosen based upon credibility, content, currency, disclosure, links, design, etc.

Journal articles - Look up journal articles to find current headlines and medical research. Health & Wellness Resource Center offers full-text articles from London Daily Telegraph, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Medline/PubMed indexes medical journals, some of which are available online. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) offers full-text articles for issues back to 1998. Search by keyword, subject heading or table of contents.

Alternative Medicine
CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) on PubMed
HealthWorld Online

AIDS
The Body
HIV InSite

See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, etc. for more AIDS resources.

Directories

Print publications

Questions to help determine the quality of a website

• Does the website agree to the principles of Health On the Net Foundation (HON)?
• Who publishes the website? Is it a .gov or .org website?
• Does it state when or how often information is updated? When was the last update?
• Is the purpose of the website stated?
• If it is a .com website, who sponsors the information on the website? Do sponsors pay a fee to show their product or their name?
• Are you required to register to obtain information? If so, how is your personal information used? How is it protected?
• Are you required to pay a fee to obtain information? Does the website give a reason for the fee?