The Medical Web: Navigate With Caution.No matter what your condition, you can find a vast amount of information on the Internet. There are online versions of medical journals, government sites such as the National Library of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control, or the Food and Drug Administration, and sites sponsored by medical schools. Patients who take time to do research on their condition are more informed and have a better understanding of their disease. By going online, they can read articles by experts from all over the world. Internet-savvy doctors can provide patients with lists of sites containing relevant information. In addition to this huge World Wide Web "library" (see list of sites) are two other resources, chat rooms and Listservs. Internet mailing lists, called Listservs, can link patients with the same disease via e-mail. To find a mailing list about a specific disease, go to www.liszt.com. Chat rooms are Internet discussion groups in which patients can communicate with others suffering from the same condition. By tuning in tuning in, v process in which a therapeutic touch practitioner centers himself or herself so as to be aligned with or “in tune” with a healing energy “frequency,” so that the patient may choose to join the practitioner (tune to a specific Internet channel at a given time, patients can "talk" with others experiencing the same problems. Some chat rooms are moderated by doctors or other experts in the field. In this way cyberspace "support groups" are created, where patients can share information on remedies that worked for them. On the downside On the Downside is an EP by the San Diego, California band Counterfit, released by Alphabet Records in 2000. It was the band's first EP, recorded shortly after the members had relocated to San Diego from Fairfield County, Connecticut. , the vast amount of information to sift through is not only time-consuming, but overwhelming. When I typed "cancer" into the popular Alta Vista search engine, I retrieved 2,144,840 documents. Combining my search for "cancer" with "brain tumor Brain Tumor Definition A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the brain. Unlike other tumors, brain tumors spread by local extension and rarely metastasize (spread) outside the brain. " still brought up an overwhelming 21,265 documents. A second problem is that misinformation mis·in·form tr.v. mis·in·formed, mis·in·form·ing, mis·in·forms To provide with incorrect information. mis can be transmitted as easily as information. The world of the Internet is a chaotic universe that includes massive amounts of unverified information from an innumerable variety of sources. Unlike the publishing industry, most sites contain few editorial controls. A magazine or publishing house "selects only the best items for publication, but anyone can put up a web-site. Thus there's no guarantee that the "facts" and "research" you see are true and not a disguised sales pitch. Be cautious, particularly when participating in discussion groups and Internet chat sessions in which anyone can participate. To guard against misinformation, ask these questions: 1. Who put up the site? Who is responsible for the editorial content? The most reliable sources for research news are government and university sites, because they're least likely to exaggerate or misrepresent mis·rep·re·sent tr.v. mis·rep·re·sent·ed, mis·rep·re·sent·ing, mis·rep·re·sents 1. To give an incorrect or misleading representation of. 2. their findings. (Recognize them by .gov and .edu suffixes at the end of the address.) 2. What is the purpose of the site? This ties in with the first question. Once you know who is responsible, ask why the site was put up. Consider the provider's goals--and whether there's a sales pitch or some other propaganda element involved. 3. What are the credentials of the people editing the site? Since an M.D. after someone's name is no guarantee of up-to-date medical reportage, a site should list the credentials of its writers or medical advisers. 4. How does the site back up its claims? Does the site refer you to studies from medical journals or to tales of miracle cures? Be suspicious of information that isn't well documented. 5. How often is the site updated? Medical information changes quickly! Stick to sites updated often. 6. Share the information and Web addresses with your doctor or other medical professional before testing out new medical information you've downloaded. Your physician is familiar with the details of your particular case, and can help you to tailor the wealth of online information to your situation. Medical Sites An annotated partial list of government and educational medical sites follows: American Medical Association American Medical Association (AMA), professional physicians' organization (founded 1847). Its goals are to protect the interests of American physicians, advance public health, and support the growth of medical science. www.ama-assn.org This site is a "door finder"--that is, it has links to many other sites. Look here for the latest in health and nutrition studies, a national "doctor finder," the Journal of the American Medical Association JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal, published 48 times per year by the American Medical Association. JAMA is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. , and other AMA (Automatic Message Accounting) The recording and reporting of telephone calls within a telephone system. It includes the calling and called parties and start and stop times of the call. scientific publications. Association for Health Services Research Health services research is the multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, www.xnet.com/~bret/statind.htm Another excellent "door finder." Rather than a list of specific resources, this site gives sources (federal, state, hospital, educational, and health data) of information on the Internet. Click here to connect to anything from British Medical Journal The British Medical Journal, or BMJ, is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world.[2] It is published by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (owned by the British Medical Association), whose other to Outcomes Assessment and Research to OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. . Hardin Meta Director of Internet Health Sources www.arcade.uiowa.edu/ hardin-www/md.html This amazing gateway to health-related information, a product of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa Not to be confused with Iowa State University. The first faculty offered instruction at the University in March 1855 to students in the Old Mechanics Building, situated where Seashore Hall is now. In September 1855, the student body numbered 124, of which, 41 were women. , allows users to browse by general topic headings, each of which will tell how many small, medium, and large sites are indexed here. More information is available here than in most other resources (some sites have 1,000 + links!). Harvard Medical Web www.med.harvard.edu/old-home.html This site contains current articles from the group's various newsletters, which include the Harvard Health Letter. You can order various special reports. There are links to a variety of other health resources and organizations. Healthfinder www.healthfinder.gov This is the U.S. government's "gateway to consumer health." Health Touch www.healthtouch.com This site gives links to specific health organizations. HealthWeb healthweb.org This site is from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a consortium of teaching and research academic institutions, the Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and the Greater Health Sciences Library. It is an easy-to-use finding tool for health-related topics, from AIDS to mortuary science. Sites under each topic are chosen by five CIC CIC circulating immune complexes. CIC Circulating immune complexes. See Immune complexes. committees dealing with guidelines from content to technical aspects, and their criteria are also explained here. The alphabetical index includes both live links and topics that are being worked on, so users can anticipate what subjects will be clickable clickable adj (COMPUT) → cliqueable clickable adj → cliccabile in the near future. HealthWeb: Reference Resources bones.med.ohio-state.edu/hw/ref/ This is a collaborative effort between the Prior Health Sciences Library and the HealthWeb Project. The site is designed to organize and enhance access to quality health-related Internet resources. Publications online include The Merck Manual and Healthy People 2000, and the reference materials include drug information, with links to full-text articles from Medical Sciences Bulletin. Medical Matrix www.medmatrix.org Medical Matrix is a list of medical Internet sites rated by medical experts. Medscape www.medscape.com This is one of the richest commercial sites for general information on health. Contains searchable medical articles. Requires a user password, available for a fee with registration. MedicineNet www.medicinenet.com Contains an "ask the experts" feature. National Institutes of Health www.nih.gov This site is a gateway to the almost-infinite health research supported by the government, on everything from alternative medicine to rare diseases. National Library of Medicine www.nlm.nih.gov This site includes the U.S. National Library of Medicine's huge online medical databases, including MEDLINE The online medical database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) whose parent is the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. MEDLINE contains millions of articles from thousands of medical journals and publications. The consumer section of the site (http://medlineplus. . Other resources include medical news, NLM publications, grants, and programs of the National Library of Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine The New England Journal of Medicine (New Engl J Med or NEJM) is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world. www.nejm.org Search this medical journal by topic. Diseases: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. www.cdc.gov This government site covers a wide range of health issues, from serious infectious diseases such as AIDS and Ebola to health statistics, injury prevention, etc. Some of the official reports, reproduced online, are a bit technical, but there are also consumer-friendly pages and fact sheets on various diseases and disorders. Karolinska Institutet Library www.kib.ki.se/index_en.html The Swedish medical research center sponsors this site. Click on "Diseases & Disorders" to find many resources, from general overviews to technical information, covering aspects from diagnosis to treatment. The disease section is searchable by MeSH classification, the controlled-vocabulary subject heading list used by the (U.S.) National Library of Medicine. American Heart Association American Heart Association (AHA), n.pr a national voluntary health agency that has the goal of increasing public and medical awareness of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, and thereby reducing the number of associated deaths and disabilities. www.amhrt.org A good place to start for cardiac questions. Cancer: National Cancer Institute www.nci.nih.gov Mayo Clinic Health Oasis www.mayohealth.org A helpful consumer-friendly page includes recipes, book reviews, health quizzes, and a column called "Ask the Mayo Dietician dietician Nutritionist A health professional with specialized training in diet and nutrition ." CancerGuide www.cancerguide.org OncoLink www.oncolink.upenn.edu An excellent general site on cancer, from the University of Pennsylvania (body, education) University of Pennsylvania - The home of ENIAC and Machiavelli. http://upenn.edu/. Address: Philadelphia, PA, USA. Cancer Center. Women and Children: Two excellent sites in this category include: Obstetrics and Gynecology obstetrics and gynecology Medical and surgical specialty concerned with the management of pregnancy and childbirth and with the health of the female reproductive system. Network www.obgyn.net American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics ("AAP") is an organization of pediatricians, physicians trained to deal with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. Its motto is: "Dedicated to the Health of All Children. www.aap.org Nutrition: Food and Drug Administration www.fda.gov Look here for releases and official positions on food news, biotechnology, pesticides, foodborne illness, food labeling, product recalls, and reports on dietary supplements. A timely and useful site. United States Department of Agriculture United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), n.pr established in 1862, USDA is responsible for the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products. It conducts ongoing research in areas from human nutrition to new crop technologies and also helps ensure open Home Page www.usda.gov This government agency is responsible for monitoring food safety issues. Look here for safety and food preparation information. Tufts University Nutrition Navigator navigator.tufts.edu This site has reviews of and links to more than 200 nutrition sites. American Dietetic Association The American Dietetic Association (ADA) is the United States' largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, with nearly 65,000 members. Approximately 75 % of ADA's members are registered dietitians and about 4 % are dietetic technicians, registered. www.eatright.org This nonprofit organization is a good source for diet information and nationwide referrals to dieticians. Be cautious, however; some of its "hot topics" pages are sponsored by companies such as McDonald's or Procter and Gamble, and may be biased. Center for Science in the Public Interest www.cspinet.org This Washington, D.C.-based public advocacy group features resources like the Nutrition Action Healthletter. They research topics such as the health profiles of popular new foods, food labeling, and diet supplements. CyberDiet www.cyberdiet.com Look up nutritional values of foods; generate nutritional profiles and menu plans. Pharmaceuticals and Drugs: Center for Drug Evaluation and Research The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is a division of the FDA that deals with the approval of drugs. CDER reviews New Drug Applications to ensure that the drugs are safe and effective. It is one of five Centers at the United States Food and Drug Administration. www.fda.gov/cder/drug.htm The Federal Drug Administration has pulled together a good collection of links here, including sections on drugs in the news, over-the-counter product information for consumers, adverse drug reactions, and the AIDS Clinical Trial Information Service. Yvonne Fast is a writer living in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse (IPA: . |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion