Top Ten Medical Sites

The Internet offers health websites for consumers.

Both medical professionals and patients want good updated health information on which to base their decisions and choices. With today's ease in accessing such information, Internet searchers must show discretion in using information that they find, as many websites may simply give data that promotes a commercial interest or bias. With that in mind, the Medical Library Association has listed its top 10 medical websites in alphabetical order.

Cancer.gov

The National Cancer Institute's website, Cancer.gov., covers all aspects of cancer from the various types of cancer to the treatment options for each type of cancer. Visitors to the Cancer.gov site receive complete information about the latest research in cancer prevention, testings and screenings and treatments. The site also touches on the emotional impact of cancer on the patient's family and on the patient himself.

CDC.gov

Many people know about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work in identifying epidemics because the media calls the CDC whenever an epidemic threatens. However, the CDC also maintains an extensive website that covers emotional, physical and mental diseases and conditions as well as information about environmental health, workplace health and safety, healthy living and medical information about different stages of life.

FamilyDoctor.org

FamilyDoctor divides the information in its website into separate sections for men, women, children and seniors. Their site gives visitors an opportunity to search for specific conditions and diseases and learn about the symptoms and characteristics of each, as well as possible treatments.

healthfinder.gov

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers the healthfinder website, which emphasizes preventative medicine and healthy living. Their "personal health tools" widget encourages site visitors to enter information about their physical shape and lifestyle and then receive personalized advice about how to live a healthy lifestyle.

HIVInSite.ucsf.edu

The University of California at San Francisco set up HIV InSite to provide information to patients who have an HIV positive diagnosis. HIV InSite's information falls into different categories, including general knowledge about HIV and treatment options, prevention, policy analysis and information about HIV in other countries.

KidsHealth.org

KidsHealth provides information about childhood illnesses and childhood health issues. The KidsHealth site divides into three different sections, with information for parents about children's heath, information for children about their own health and information for teenagers about their health and the physical and emotional changes and issues that concern adolescent years

MayoClinic.com

The well-known Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota sponsors the Mayo Clinic's website, which provides up-to-date information about diseases and the various treatment options associated with each illness or condition. The Mayo Clinic includes some suggestions of natural and herbal treatments when discussing treatments.

Medfusion.net/ihealth/

Medfusion's iHealth gives patients the opportunity to connect with physicians through the Internet. Through the website, patients fill out custom and standard forms, receive lab test results, request prescription refills and appointments and even communicate with Medfusion's practice staff online.

MedlinePlus.gov

MedlinePlus offers English and Spanish sites with a large information database on health topics, drugs and supplements, resources, directories and an encyclopedia of medical terms to assist people who want to better understand their own health issues.

NOAH-health.org

The New York Online Access to Health (NOAH) uses web-based resources to provide health information in Spanish and English to the site's visitors. Information on NOAH comes from librarians and health professionals who select and organize full-text consumer health information based on the source's relevance, accuracy and lack of bias.

References

• Medical Library Association: For Health Consumers: "Top Ten" Most Useful Websites