The Medical Web: Sites You Can Use.Where on the Internet can you find quality consumer medical information? Americans today are taking more responsibility for their health. Health clubs are more numerous than ever. People are exercising, dieting, keeping fit, and looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. ways to stay healthy. Millions are turning to the Internet for health information. Web sites dedicated to health have proliferated; there are more than 10,000 of them. New Web sites appear daily, while other sites disappear or lose credibility. This is a world with no controls, no limits, and no one in charge. How is the wise consumer of health information to separate the "wheat from the chaff chaff 1. chaffed hay; called also chop. 2. the winnowings from a threshing, consisting of awns, husks, glumes and other relatively indigestible materials. " in this ever-changing, unstable Internet world? An excellent gateway site is www.healthfinder.gov. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Noun 1. Department of Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Health and Human Services, HHS , this site is a directory of online ezines, databases, medical journals, and support groups--all checked for credibility. Two more specialized gateway sites are www.familyvillage.wisc.edu and www.health.org/index. The first is an Internet guide for parents of children with special health needs. The second offers substance abuse information and is sponsored by the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. CBS-sponsored Health Watch at www.cbs.medscape.com is a good source of medical news. It also includes a "library" of health resources. Many prominent medical institutions are sponsoring Web sites. Two of the best are Mayo Clinic's Health Oasis at www.mayonhealth.org and InteliHealth, sponsored by Johns Hopkins, at www.intelihealth.com. InteliHealth includes an online doctor finder, the Merriam Webster medical dictionary, and a comprehensive index of common diseases and conditions. The Mayo Clinic site is divided into 10 sections, each of which is devoted to a major health topic such as allergies, men's health Men's Health Definition Men's health is concerned with identifying, preventing, and treating conditions that are most common or specific to men. , or nutrition. Each section has news items and a comprehensive collection of articles. In addition, there is a glossary, a library, a search feature, and an "Ask Mayo" feature that allows the user to get expert advice on specific questions. Health SCOUT, at www.healthscout.com, contains book reviews, hospital evaluations, and Web site reviews. The user can find a doctor or look up a drug. A medical library includes an online medical encyclopedia, and a pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. encyclopedia. Also highly regarded is New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Online Access to Health, or NOAH Noah (nō`ə) [Heb.,=to rest], in the Bible, the builder of the ark. Righteous Noah and his family were the only people God saved from a world sunk in sin. , at www.noah.cuny.edu. This site was created with federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve and is sponsored by both the City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY; acronym: IPA pronunciation: [kjuni]), is the public university system of New York City. and the New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine was founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York City metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health reform. . A unique feature here is the bilingual nature of the site, which is available in both English and Spanish. The information is current and comprehensive. Directories of other online resources are included. For a medical site with a Christian view, check out the sister sites www.med-help.com and www.medhelp.net. Their resource guide and medical database is offered by a Christian nonprofit ministry. An excellent site, it bears the HON code and offers a medical library, medical news, links to many other medical sites, and conferencing with on-staff nurses who answer medical questions. Two new trends in Internet medicine are the online doctor and online pharmacy. Sites such as www.cyberdocs.com, www.WebMD.com, and www.AmericasDoctor.com have online doctors to answer your questions, usually through E-mail. For $50, Cyberdocs will even diagnose the problem and prescribe medications. Online drugstores include www.drugstore.com and www.planetrx.com. Use them cautiously. You can buy anything online, even drugs that haven't been approved by the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. . There is no way of knowing if these products meet required standards. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, an international pharmacy-monitoring organization, approves online drugstores at their site, www.nabp.net. With all these new trends, caution is in order as never before. Quackwatch is a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. and a member of Consumer Federation of America The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, education and advocacy. According to CFA's website, its members are approximately 300 consumer-oriented non-profits, which themselves have . Its purpose, as stated in its mission statement, is "to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies." Their Web site, www.quackwatch.com, is available in English, French, and German. The site is searchable, allowing the user to find information on practitioners whom they consider quacks, as well as details on how to spot a quack. Always use caution. When checking out a site, ask yourself these questions: * Does the site have an editorial board? Who is responsible for the content? What are their credentials? * Does the site conform to the Health on the Net Foundations Code of Conduct (HON Code)? Check out their Web site at www.HON.ch. * Is the information timely or dated? * What is their purpose? Avoid sites whose purpose is the marketing of products; sites that promise quick, dramatic, or miraculous results; and those that use anecdotes and testimonials rather than scientific studies and data to support their findings. * How do they back up their claims? Sites that use broad, sweeping statements rather than specific references are subject to extreme scrutiny. Statements such as "featured on Oprah" or "many newspaper references" do not give enough information to check out the reference. You need specific dates and titles. Always verify all information you find on the Web. There are no guarantees here. Even reputable sites run by medical hospitals or universities often give outdated or inaccurate information. Yvona Fast is a writer living in Rochester, New York This article is about the city of Rochester in Monroe County. For the town in Ulster County, see Rochester, Ulster County, New York. Rochester, once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City or . |
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