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Livingston Public Library
Reference Resources
Health and Medicine On the Web
Please Note: The Library believes
that the following websites are of high quality.
However, the information provided here is not intended
to be a substitute for professional medical advice.
Alternative Medicine
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About
Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products (www.mskcc.org/aboutherbs)
is by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Originally designed with the cancer patient in
mind, it has excellent information on herbs, botanicals,
vitamins and other supplements.
It provides objective information for oncologists
and healthcare professionals, including a clinical summary
for each agent and details about constituents, adverse
effects, interactions, and potential benefits or problems.
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Alternative
(Complementary) Medicine- Ask NOAH (www.noah-health.org/english/alternative/alternative.html)
has comprehensive resources for those interested in
alternative medicine and therapy from acupuncture to
reflexology. Information on the therapies
is also arranged under specific health conditions.
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Alternative
Health News Online (www.altmedicine.com) has latest
health news and links to information on diet and nutrition,
mind/body control, manual healing techniques, longevity,
and on alternative medical systems and traditions such
as Ayurvedic, Chinese, Holistic, Homeopathic, and others.
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The
Alternative Medicine Home Page (www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html)
is an annotated directory about various forms of alternative
health care for consumers, professionals, and students.
It links to sources of information on unconventional,
unorthodox, unproved or alternative, complementary,
innovative, integrative therapies. It includes
practitioners’ directories.
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Ask
Dr. Weil (www.drweil.com) is a searchable health
information service offered by Dr. Andrew Weil, a Harvard-trained
doctor specializing in alternative medicine, mind/body
interactions, and medical botany. Includes a question-and-answer
page with an archive of past questions, information
on health conditions, an online 8-week program for health
improvement, health news, recipes, vitamin adviser,
and more.
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Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials
(clinicaltrials.gov) by the National Library of Medicine,
provides regularly updated information about federally
and privately supported clinical research in human volunteers.
For over 9,000 trials, it gives information about
each trial’s purpose, who may participate, locations,
and phone numbers for more details.
Searches can be made by disease, location, treatment,
sponsor , etc. or you can browse by condition, sponsor
or status.
- CenterWatch Clinical
Trials Listing Service (www.centerwatch.com) is
a listing of more than 41,000 industry and government
sponsored clinical trials. Patient resources also
include clinical trial notification services, newly
approved drug therapies, research headlines, and background
information on clinical research. Resources for
research professionals include research center profiles,
and industry news.
Consumer Health Resources
- drkoop.com (www.drkoop.com)
is based on the vision of Dr. C. Everett Koop, the former
U.S. Surgeon General, and is a consumer-focused interactive
Web site which provides users with healthcare information
on a wide variety of subjects (including family health
and specific medical conditions), as well as access
to medical databases, real-time medical news, interactive
communities, and tools. A comprehensive directory
compares and rates more than 650 other health sites.
Also, access to 50 plus chat support groups covering
various topics; a Drug Checker that has valuable information
about medications; links to local health resources;
and the ability to purchase healthcare products and
services online.
- FamilyDoctor
(www.familydoctor.org) by the American Academy of Family
Physicians carries health
information for the whole family.
Sections include Conditions A to Z, Healthy Living,
Women, Health Tools (dictionary, BMI calculator, symptom
search), Seniors, Parents & Kids, and Over-the-Counter
guide.
- HealthLink
Plus (www.healthlinkplus.org) provides links under
catagories of General Health Information, Health Care
Providers, Health Insurance, Medical Research, Staying
Healthy, Mental Health, Complementary & Alternative
Medicine, Priedmont Resources, and Evaluating Health
Information on the Internet.
- Household
Products Database (householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov)
contains information on over 6,000 brand name
household products, their potential health effects,
and about their safety and handling. Information is taken from a variety of publicly available
sources, including brand-specific labels and Material
Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) prepared by manufacturers.
One can browse and search by products in different
categories such as pesticides, personal care and pet
care, or alphabetically.
It is also possible to search ingredients in products
by chemical name or CAS Registry Number.
- Lab Tests
Online (www.labtestonline.org) helps one better
understand the many clinical tests that are part of
routine care, diagnosis and treatment of a broad range
of conditions and diseases. The site carries test descriptions; a library of conditions/diseases
that are briefly described and linked to the tests typically
used for each; preventive screening guide and; news
and indepth articles on the field.
- New Jersey GASP (Group
Against Smoking Pollution) and the Tabacco Control Policy
and Legal Resources Center (www.njgasp.org) provides
information on smokefree dining; legislation, litigation;
frequently asked questions and more.
- NIHSeniorHealth
(nihseniorhealth.gov) features authoritative and up-to-date
health information for seniors. Each health topic includes general background information,
videos, quizzes and FAQs. The
site’s senior friendly features include large
print, short, easy-to-read segments of information and
simple navigation. A “talking” function reads the text aloud
and special buttons to enlarge the text or turn on high
contrast make text more readable.
- PDR.net for Consumers
(consumer.pdr.net) is a huge resource that contains
among others: Drug Information; Clinical Trial Information;
Info About Doctors that helps to find a physician, or
compare insurance plans; Magazine Archives, with full-text
articles from 13 medical journals; and Getting Well
Network, which covers a variety of medical conditions.
Free registration is required.
- QuackWatch
(www.quackwatch.com) is an excellent source for locating
information on health scams and frauds, and controversial
medical practices.
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Tox
Town (toxtown.nlm.nih.gov) is an interactive guide
to common toxic substances encountered in everyday places. It is designed to give you information on: everyday locations
where toxic chemicals may be found; non-technical descriptions
of chemicals; links to selected, authoritative chemical
information on the Internet; how the environment can
impact human health and; Internet resources on environmental
health topics.
Dentistry
- American Dental Association
(www.ada.org) has information for both the dentist and
the patient. The Patients & Consumers section has
information on a wide variety of topics—root canal
treatment, gum disease, oral health for seniors, dental
insurance, fluorides, cleaning your teeth, and how to
find a dentist. Also research issues, information
about dental education, links to ADA publications, and
more.
Doctors
- American Board of Medical
Specialties (www.abms.org) site has a service (to
verify the board certification of a physician) which
tells you whether a doctor is certified by one of the
24 approved medical specialty boards in the United States.
In addition, there is a list of boards with links to
their sites, a Certified Doctor Locator, and information
on the history and purpose of the ABMS.
- AMA
Physician Select (Online Doctor Finder) (www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm)
is published by the American Medical Association.
It provides information on virtually every licensed
physician in the U.S. All physician credential
data have been verified for accuracy and authenticated.
Searches can be made either by name or specialty.
The Reference Library section leads to information on
a wide range of medical conditions.
- New Jersey Physician
and Podiatrist Profiles offers extensive info about
NJ doctors, including malpractice settlements and hospital
disciplinary actions that used to be confidential.
- Online
Licensee Directories (www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/director.htm)
is New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs’ site
providing listings of licensed health professionals
including physicians, optometrist, acupuncturists, dentists,
chiropracters, psychological examiners, among others.
Searches can be conducted by name, and the lists confirm
current licenses and note disciplinary history.
- How to Find Out if Your Doctor Has Been Sued:
(1) Administrators
in Medicine, (2) Quackwatch.com,
(3) The U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector
General
Drugs
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DrugDigest
(www.drugdigest.org) is a noncommercial, evidence-based,
consumer health and drug information site.
It provides access to easy-to-read reference
materials on topics ranging from drugs, vitamins and
herbs to breakthrough medical research and state-of-the-art
disease management. It provides
a Drug Interactions Database where you can check interactions
between two or more drugs and get detailed information
regarding potentially harmful drug interactions. Also,
access to the latest news and research on health conditions
is provided.
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FDA
Drug Approvals List (www.fda.gov/cder/da/da.htm)
is updated weekly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
It gives approval date, trade name, name of applicant,
dosage form, active ingredients, and indications.
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Pharmacology
(pharmacology.about.com) covers most things to do with
drugs—drugs in the news, new drug approvals, links
to drug and pharmaceutical companies web sites (which
are a good place to obtain information on specific drugs
they manufacture), and a guide to how to find drug information
on the Web with links to search sites.
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RxList
(The Internet Index) (www.rxlist.com) here a search
by drug name gives the brand name, generic name, and
category plus a description including common indications,
dosage, and side effects. Can also search a medical
dictionary.
Health Organizations
- American Medical
Association (www.ama-assn.org) offers Health Insight—online
health information for everyone. It includes information
on specific conditions, doctor and hospital finder,
information on family segments such as women and children,
and information on a wide variety of general health
topics such as blood transfusions, fitness, laboratory
tests, and nutritional basics.
- Food and Drug Administration
(www.fda.gov) has information on the various products
regulated by this consumer protection agency including
food products, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices;
information on new approved drugs and; reports on the
safety of various medical products.
- National Institutes
of Health (www.nih.gov) offers the latest health
information from A to Z, as well as home pages for all
25 of the separate institutes and centers that make
up the NIH (National Cancer Institute, National Eye
Institute, etc.), each providing access to focused collections
of documents and links. It provides an excellent
starting point to both consumers and medical providers
to locate detailed health information.
- National Organization
of Rare Diseases (www.rarediseases.org) offers information
on over 1,100 rare disorders, information on organizations
that assist people affected by them, and an orphan drug
database.
- New Jersey
Department of Health and Senior Services (www.state.nj.us/health)
lists local health and family health services information;
health care systems analysis; laboratories; information
on public health, environmental health, senior affairs,
AIDS and cancer.
Hospitals
- American Hospital Directory
(www.ahd.com) provides online, comparative data for
most hospitals in the U.S. It includes information
on the number of beds, accreditation, services provided,
financial data, and utilization statistics.
- Best Hospitals Finder
(health.usnews.com/sections/health/best-hospitals) contains
America’s Best Hospitals published annually by
U.S. News & World Report. It lists the top
medical facilities that achieved high scores in at least
6 specialties which can be searched by specialty, metro
area, state or name. Hot links to an institution’s
home page enable you to learn more about individual
facilities.
- HospitalWeb
(neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/hospitalweb.shtml)
is a growing list of all hospitals, both US and worldwide,
with a Web presence. It also has an interesting
medical sites list.
- St.
Barnabas Medical Center (www.sbhcs.com/hospitals/saint_barnabas)
tells you all about the resources and services provided
by this facility in Livingston, NJ.
Medical Reference Books Online
- The Merck Manual
(www.merck.com) provides access to the 17th (1999) edition
of The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, The Merck
Manual of Geriatrics, and part of The Merck Manual of
Medical Information—Home Edition.
Mental Health
- Internet Mental
Health (www.mentalhealth.com) is a free encyclopedia
of mental health information designed by a Canadian
psychiatrist. It has information on a large number
of mental disorders, online diagnostic programs, information
on psychiatric medications, and a mental health
magazine containing articles, booklets, and news, and
also Internet links to other popular mental health sites.
- Mental Health Net
(mentalhelp.net/) is a comprehensive guide to mental
health online. It gives information on various
disorders and treatments, including links to other Web
sites; links to professional resources such as newsgroups
of clinical and scholarly interest, searchable databases,
and academic departments and; latest mental health news
and advice columns.
- NIMH Web Site
(www.nimh.nih.gov) has a variety of information from
the National Institute of Mental Health addressing different
needs. For the public, it has brochures, fact
sheets, reports and press releases on the symptoms,
diagnosis and treatment of various mental illnesses
and information on clinical trials. For researchers
it has information on funding and employment opportunities,
research reports, research consortiums, conference summaries
and research Web sites. For practitioners, it reports
on latest advances in diagnosis and treatment of mental
disorders, and provides patient education materials.
Nutrition
- American Dietetic
Association (www.eatright.org) provides information
on a variety of topics related to nutrition and diet.
You can locate a registered dietitian in your area,
follow legislation related to food, health and nutrition
policies, find links to numerous related sites by category,
and get to know about careers in dietetics.
- Food and Nutrition
Information Center (www.nal.usda.gov/fnic) by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture offers links to a number
of Internet resources by topics from A to Z. Also,
links to sites on dietary supplements, food guide pyramid,
food composition and a Consumer Corner covering food
and nutrition topics of public interest.From here(www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/)
you can also access the USDA Nutrient Database by the
Nutrient Data Laboratory that contains information on
the nutrient values of approximately 6,200 foods most
popular with American consumers.
- Nutrition Analysis
Tool (www.nat.uiuc.edu) is a Web based program that
allows anyone to analyze the foods they eat for various
different nutrients. You can create a personalized
analysis by entering your food and amounts, and gender
and age. You then select what nutrients (protein,
calcium, iron, etc.) you want analyzed.
The results are either in HTML table or printable text
format.
Pediatrics
- KidsHealth
(www.kidshealth.org) carries in-depth articles and features
giving health information about children from before
birth through adolescence. It has separate areas
for kids, teens and parents each with its own age-appropriate
content and tone.
Reference
- Healthfinder
(www.healthfinder.gov) is a free gateway to consumer
health and human services information developed by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Besides news and information on various medical topics,
it leads you to select online publications, clearinghouses,
databases, Web sites, support groups, as well as government
agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce
reliable information for the public.
- HealthyNJ (www.healthynj.org) provides access
to general information and Internet resources on a number
of diseases and health conditions.
It also has a collection of health-related web
sites specific to the state of New Jersey.
You can access state and county level health
resources, look for information related to Garden State
health insurance topics, find links to hospitals and
other health care facilities in every county in the
state, and get statistical information on representative
NJ health concerns.
- MayoClinic Health
Oasis (www.mayohealth.org) is directed by scientists
and physicians from the organization. It presents
up-to-date information on a wide variety of timely medical
topics including children’s and women’s
health. For each topic it provides access to news
headlines, reference articles written by specialists
and links to other sites.
- MedlinePlus (www.medlineplus.gov)
from the National Library of Medicine features extensive,
quality and updated information on over 700 diseases
and conditions. It also
has directories of hospitals, dentists and physicians,
a medical encyclopedia and dictionary, interactive patient
tutorials, drug information, access to latest health
news and research. Preformulated
Medline searches are included and give access to medial
journal articles.
Research/Directories
- Hardin
Meta Directory of Internet Health Sources (www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/index.html)
is by the University of Iowa and offers extensive lists
of medical research links grouped by health topics.
Also links to medical and health science libraries which
are on the Web.
- HealthyNJ (www.healthynj.org) provides access
to general information and Internet resources on a number
of diseases and health conditions.
It also has a collection of health-related web
sites specific to the state of New Jersey.
You can access state and county level health
resources, look for information related to Garden State
health insurance topics, find links to hospitals and
other health care facilities in every county in the
state, and get statistical information on representative
NJ health concerns.
- Librarian’s
Index to the Internet (Health and Medicine) (http://lii.org/search/file/health)
provides a comprehensive and useful set of links to
medical and health resources on the Net. Links
have been selected and evaluated by librarians for their
usefulness to users of public libraries.
- MEDLINE (www.nlm.nih.gov),
the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) huge
database that provides access to articles in medical
journals, is available on the Internet without charge.
NLM offers PubMed and Internet Grateful Med, two free
systems to search MEDLINE’s 11 million citations,
and other related databases.
- New Jersey Cancer
Trial Connections (www.njctc.org) offers access
to treatment options. Help hotline: 866-788-3929 (Mon.-Fri.
9-5 ET)
Travel Health
- Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/travel/)
has a section on Travelers’ Health which tells
you how to protect yourself from disease when traveling
outside the U.S., alerts about disease outbreaks (by
disease or country), gives precautionary/safety recommendations,
and required vaccinations. Also has fact sheets,
and disease prevention and health information from A
to Z (anthrax to zoster).
Compiled by Archana Chiplunkar
October 2009
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