1Up Health
A medical and health information resource containing a database of health articles and reference materials, including an excellent health encyclopedia. 1Up Health has extensive information from trusted sources on over 4,000 topics including diseases, tests, symptoms, injuries, surgeries, nutrition, poisons, and special topics. There is also focus on family and community health and the site is updated daily.
Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care
Accredits some 900 health care facilities, including outpatient surgical centers. Mostly a marginal player, it has accredited seventeen HMOs and one independent practice association (IPA).
American Accreditation Health Care Commission
Organization began in 1990 to accredit utilization review firms, which decide whether certain treatments and procedures should be done. It has branched out to accredit other health care organizations such as HMOs and provider-sponsored organizations. It also certifies credential verification organizations.
American Association of People with Disabilities
AAPD is the largest national nonprofit cross-disability member organization in the United States, dedicated to ensuring economic self-sufficiency and political empowerment for the more than 56 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD works in coalition with other disability organizations for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws.
American Medical Association
Links to a “Doctor Finder,” medical journals and current news developments. Use the search engine and online library to find resources and information on specific medical topics: ethics, education, science, accreditation, advocacy, consumer health information.
American Medical Association Journals
JAMA, American Medical News and speciality journals.
American Medical Writers Association
Founded in 1940 to help medical authors. “The AMWA’s mission is to promote excellence in writing, editing, and producing printed and electronic biomedical communications.” Contains job listings and a freelance directory.
Annual Reviews of Medicine
Annual Reviews from January 1984 to May 1997. Issues can be downloaded through your Web browser. The index is searchable.
Ask Dr. Weil
Send medical questions to Dr. Weil, a proponent of natural medicine and healing. Or search the site for tips on vitamins and natural medicine.
Association of Health Care Journalists
This young organization helps journalists who cover health care and health policy. General area has conference info and publications. Members-only area includes info on jobs, fellowships and a newsletter.
Berkeley Mortality Database
Formerly the Berkeley Mortality Database, the HMD contains detailed data on mortality rates, life expectancy and population in 23 countries. Information, organized by organized by age and gender, dates to the mid-20th century for all countries; many begin in the 19th century. Led by Prof. John R. Wilmoth of the University of California-Berkeley, the project is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging.
BioABACUS
Acronyms and abbreviations in biotechnology
CancerLit
This bibliographic database provides access to more than 1.3 million citations and abstracts from cancer literature. More than 4,000 sources are consulted, including biomedical journals, reports, proceedings, and theses, to create this database, dating from 1963. The National Cancer Institute updates CANCERLIT with more than 8,000 records a month.
Cardinal Information Corp.
A glimpse into how hospitals operate: Cardinal’s services are designed to help hospitals cut costs by analyzing outcomes of treatments.
CDC Wonder
From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control: “an easy-to-use system that provides a single point of access to a wide variety of CDC reports, guidelines, and numeric public health data.” You can register or log on as an anonymous user. Query data sets on mortality, cancer incidence, hospital discharges, AIDS, behavioral risk factors, diabetes, and many other topics.
Chemical Health & Safety Data
Retrieve data on more than 2,000 chemicals studied by the National Toxicology Program.
ChildStats
“This web site offers easy access to federal and state statistics and reports on children and their families, including: population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment,and education.” From several U.S. government agencies.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
The News Room linkon the home page provides resources and tools for journalists on pediatric health, including articles and studies on terrorism and its effects on children.
Combined Health Information Database
A searchable database of 16,000 educational materials from AIDS and Alzheimer’s to weight control. From the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Consumers Union
Publishers of Consumer Reports. Largely a subscription site. CU lobbies on behalf of consumers; supports managed care legislation that includes the right to sue health plans and a way for consumers to appeal decisions about their care to an independent third party. Web site is for subscribers only.
Covering Managed Care
A resource guide from CJR. This page provides introductory information and points to a wide variety of resources both on and off the web.
Covering Mental Health
Resource guide from CJR. Wide variety of sources pertaining to mental health, including lists of experts, corportations, and federal agencies.
eco-labels
The free resource is a comprehensive encyclopedia of eco-labels found on food and wood products. With over 100 records of labels and general claims, consumers can find out who, what, and why behind the labels and general claims. Very easy to search and excellent database.
Environmental Health Information Service
EHIS, a service of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is the most extensive international database of searchable information on the environment, toxicity, and cancer. Search and retrieve full text from Environmental Health Perspectives and its supplements, Chemical Health and Safety Database, carcinogens reports, toxicology technical reports, and the Tumor Incidence in Historical Control Animals Report. Portions of this service cost for access. Depository librarians can assist you with this service.
EurekAlert!
EurekAlert! is produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It offers daily E-mail notices for reporters and editors only. One is a list of scientific research papers; you have to agree to honor the embargo.
Families USA
Bills itself as the voice for health-care consumers and supports a far-reaching patients’ bill of rights. Web site has studies on managed care.
FERRET health data
Federal Electronic Research and Review Extraction Tool (FERRET) provides access to complex data sets in health care, from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the National Center for Health Statistics.
Firearm Injury Center
The effects of gun violence, from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Girl Power
Information for girls on body image, nutrition, fitness and eating disorders.
HazDat Database
Information on the health effects of hazardous substances, and releases of hazardous substances from U.S. Superfund sites and emergencies. Search by location or substance. From the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Health Effects Institute
Info on health effects of pollutants.
Health Law Resource
A lawyer’s compilation of resources for anyone interested in health care law. Focuses on telemedicine, bioethics, privacy, Medicare/Medicaid, fraud, and mergers and acquisitions.
HealthFinder
A U.S. interagency site of health information for the public. Directs consumers to reliable information. Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
HIV InSite
Gateway to HIV/AIDS information from the University of California, San Francisco. Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
Hospital Admission Codes
Called ICD-9 codes, these International Classification of Diseases codes are used on medical and insurance records, and health care databases. Choose a year and the “readme” file.
HospitalWeb
“A small but growing list of hospitals on the Web.” Also lists quite a few medical suppliers.
Hotel & Motel Fire Safety List
Search for hotels and motels that meet the fire and life safety requirments of the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990.
ICPSR data
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research claims to have the world’s largest archive of computerized social science data: on education, aging, substance abuse, health care, geography, economic behavior, social indicators. From the University of Michigan.
Innovations in End-of-Life Care
A bimonthly, online journal featuring peer-reviewed practices in end-of-life care. Thematic issues spotlight improvements in institutional practice and policies, uncover the process behind these efforts, and offer international perspectives on the topic. By the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
International Telemedicine Center Inc.
This consulting firm offers links to other telemedicine sites.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
Accredits some 18,000 hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, clinical laboratories, behavioral health care firms, and ambulatory care centers, plus forty health-care networks, including HMOs and preferred provider organizations, or PPOs. Accreditation reports are now available on the site, or call customer service at (630) 792-5800.
Kaiser/Princeton Study of Health Policy Coverage
Study by the Kaiser Family Foundation on health policy coverage in all major forms of media. Released as a supplement to Columbia Journalism Review in January 2002.
Kids Health
Information for parents, teens and children, in a lively, rather random format. Wander through for information on feelings, the brain, teen sex….
Last Acts
Search the resources for an extensive list of audio, printed, or online information on a variety of topics for the aging and their families. Register for the press club for a press kit and expert contacts or search press releases or newsletters for the lates updates.
Mayo Clinic
Clear information on health topics. Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
Medicaid Reference Book
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: a thoroughly researched reference guide to Medicaid coverage, funding, and administration. Also includes historical information about Medicaid and a glossary of Medicaid-related terms and acronyms. Note: require PDF reader.
Medical World Search
A search engine for medical information.
Medline Plus
An authoritative consumer health source, the consumer version of PubMed. Medical dictionaries, databases, directories, libraries. Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
MedWeb biomedical resources
Thorough subject databases on medical topics. From the same folks at Emory University who have now gone on to MedWeb Plus.
Medword’s medical links
A large list of links, collected for medical transcriptionists, including medical dictionaries, drug companies, etc.
NAMI Information on Mental Illnesses and Treatments
From the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, a large collection of factsheets and resources for specific mental illnesses. Hard copies of factsheets can also be ordered. This site has a large mental health research section featuring both breaking news and a searchable archive.
Nation Committee for Quality Assurance
NCQA is the primary accrediting organization for managed care firms; it has examined over 300 HMOs and nineteen managed behavioral health organizations, and certified forty-seven credential verification organizations, firms that contract with HMOs to review the credentials of physicians.
National Center for Health Statistics
Births, deaths, marriage. The official U.S. source. Start with “Fastats A to Z.”
National Institutes of Health — News and Events
News, press releases, special section for reporters. And the “yellow sheet” calendar of events.
National Library of Medicine new files alert
An E-mail alert for new files added to the NLM Web site.
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
Data files (in SAS format) from the national survey of teenagers.
National Mental Health Association
Advocates for funding of mental health services and for making prevention a priority, promotes equitable and humane treatment for those who need mental health care, conducts public information campaigns.
National Network for Immunization Information
The National Network for Immunization Information provides up-to-date, science-based information to health care professionals, the media, policy makers, and the public.
National Women’s Health Information Center
Info on women’s health from the U.S. Public Health Service. Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
NCHS public-use data files
Data sets from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Health care, hospital discharges, nursing homes, mortality, births, vital statistics.
New England Journal of Medicine
Current issue of the journal.
NICAR access to health databases
Databases of failed medical devices, and AIDS public information, for sale to journalists from the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting.
NIH Health Library
A library of information on general health, disabilities, diseases and disorders, fitness and nutrition, medical specialties, medicine, and sexuality and reproduction.
NOAH New York Online Access to Health
State, local and federal resources selected by editors for consumers. Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
Nobel Prizes
Prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. And a related prize in economics.
Oncolink
Cancer information from the University of Pennsylvania. Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
Pan American Health Organization
The Pan American Health Organization offers detailed information on public health issues in the Americas, in both English and Spanish including statistics, environmental issues, women’s health, infectious diseases, and many others. PAHO serves as the regional office of the World Health Organization.
People’s Medical Society
Watchdog organization that also offers health care information through a variety of publications. Believes managed care is a sound concept but that most managed care companies are deficient.
Pharmaceutical Information Network
A private Web source for consumers. Articles, drug database, disease information centers, discussion centers.
Planned Parenthood
Provides searchable health information, fact sheets, press releases, and advocacy information — all from an abortion-rights perspective.
Post-Traumatic Stress Database
An index on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental-health problems related to traumatic events. More than 13,000 references in the database. By the National Center for PTSD. Hosted by Dartmouth College.
Public Citizen Health Research Group
The Naderite health care advocacy. Believes for-profit managed care must be replaced by not-for-profit plans run by patients.
PubMed
Formerly known as MedLine. A service of the National Library of Medicine in the U.S., it has more than 11 million searchable medical references and abstracts, as well as some journal and newspapers articles. Some items have full text. See also Medline Plus, the consumer version.
Repetitive Strain Injury
Information on symptoms and treatments of computer-related RSI, and correct typing posture.
Scripps Research Institute
Basic biomedical research. News link directs you to press releases and scientific reports. Also allows search of research departments and projects.
Search.com Health
Links to several consumer health resources.
State Health Facts Online
From the Kaiser Family Foundation, health data for 50 U.S. states. Site allows 50-state comparisons and rankings, individual state profiles, and topical information.
State Health Facts Online
Very comprehensive health-related information broken down by state. Includes special sections on women’s health, minority health, and HIV/AIDS. Allows you to compare states in numerous categories.
The Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the U.S.
From the National Cancer Institute. Covering 1950-1994, this book of maps, text, tables and figures shows the geographic patterns of cancer death rates throughout the United States for about 40 cancers.
The Visible Human Project
Human bodies, male and female, in MRI, CT and anatomical modes.
Trauma Foundation at San Francisco General
Information on injuries and violence prevention.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
A deep site with data and statistics. Start with “Health Topics A to Z.” Ranked by the Medical Library Association among the Top 10 consumer medical sites.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control mailing lists
The CDC offers 14 mailing lists, on infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, morbidity and mortality, minority health, and national health surveys.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The FDA sends out safety alerts, public health advisories, and other FDA safety notices. To subscribe, send mail to fdalists@www.fda.gov with the text, “subscribe dev-alert.”
U.S. National Library of Medicine
Catalog, databases, publications, features. Also has search function. From the National Institutes of Health.
Virtual Hospital
Online health sciences library contains hundreds of books and brochures for health care providers and patients. Browsable by organ system, of course. Created in 1992 by the University of Iowa.
Visible Human Project
Male and female cadavers, in 1 mm slices. Ouch.
WebMD
Visitors can search for information on physicians, drugs, and conditions along with browsing articles on relevant health topics.
Wellness Web
Consumer health information, focusing on nutrition, alternative/complementary treatment, and fitness. Use “Master Index” to find topics listed alphabetically.
Where to write for vital records
Addresses for obtaining birth, death, marriage and divorce statistics in the U.S.. A list compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics.
World Book Medical Encyclopedia
Common health issues, searchable by symptom, alphabet, age, Q and A topics, first aid, and preventive health information. From Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, Ill.
World Health Network
Official site of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.
Yahoo! Health
More health resources.
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
Data from a national survey on tobacco use, unhealthy diet, slothfulness, alcohol use, risky sexual behaviors and other risky things that teenagers do.
YouthInfo
A full boat of information on adolescents, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: reports, publications and data. How much time do teenagers spend watching TV? How many use drugs? How many vote? The answers are here.