Health and Medicine
General medical information sites:
MedlinePlus The most comprehensive site for consumers, providing authoritative health information from the U. S. National Library of Medicine, the world's largest medical library. Included on the site is information on more than 700 diseases from the National Institutes of Health; professional directories for all medical and dental specialties; data on prescription and non-prescription drugs and clinical trials; and much more. The site is updated daily
Merck Manual of Medical Information The complete text of the print edition, explaining, in everyday language, disorders and their symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention; photographs, audio and video material have been added
Note: Merck publishes all of its manuals online, without charge, as a service to the community: The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy; The Merck Manual for Health and Aging; The Merck Manual of Geriatrics
NOAH (New York Online Access to Health) Created by the academic and public libraries of New York City to provide full-text consumer health information; categories of health topics include disorders and conditions, procedures and medicine, health and wellness.
Health and Wellness Resource Center Available through ICONN.org (library barcode needed); offers a medical encyclopedia and dictionary, plus an alternative medicine encyclopedia, extensive digest of recent health news, drug and herb finder, etc.
WebMD Presents extensive medical information in a user-friendly way, including information for the newly diagnosed, a symptom checker, and health assessment tools.
Sites focusing on specific diseases, specific populations, or specific medical approaches
CancerOncolink The internet's first cancer information website, and still among the best; maintained by the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of PennsylvaniaComplementary and Alternative Medicine
National Cancer Institute The website for the Federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training. Provides extensive information for the cancer patient on various cancers and cancer topics.
The Alternative Medicine Home Page a comprehensive site created and maintained by a medical librarian at the University of PittsburghPrescription Drug Information
Complementary and Alternative Medicine : New York Online Access to Health (NOAH)
KidsHealth (Nemours Foundation) provides practical, easy-to-understand, doctor-approved information about children from before birth through adolescence
Medical Library: Eye Health Authoritative information about eye care from the American Academy of Opthamology
Merck Manual of Health and Aging Full text of the print edition, which "contains information on how the body ages, preventive medical care and good nutrition, caregiving, long-term care, palliative care", etc.
NORD (National Organization of Rare Disorders) A clearinghouse for information and support groups on more than 1100 rare diseases
Teenwire /Planned Parenthood of America A comprehensive site on sexual health which provides accurate sexual information to teens, with the goal of helping them to avoid pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections
PDRhealth (based on the Physicians Desk Reference) Gives consumers plain-English explanations for the safe and effective use of prescription and non-prescription drugs
Drug information (Medlineplus) Information on thousands of prescription and over-the-counter drugs from the American Association of Health-System Pharmacists and the United States Pharmacopeia
Consumer Reports "Best Buy Drugs" Consumer Reports' new public education site on prescription medicine offers reports that "combine an expert medical review of the scientific evidence on prescription drugs with their prices."
Medical facilities
DirectoriesDirectory of American Hospitals U.S. News and World Report and the American Hospital Association provide information on more than 6000 hospitals.RankingsDirectory of Hospice Care This directory is maintained by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, which offers comprehensive resources on end-of-life issues.
Hospital Compare a service of the United States Department of Health and Human ServicesOnline medical and scientific research periodicalsBest Hospitals - US News and World Report
Rating America's Nursing Homes (1999-2003) Gannett News Service analyzed Federal Medicare databases to rate 16,000 nursing homes.
Biomed CentralAdditional medical and health sites of interest
PLoS (Public Library of Science)
Consumer Health Journal
FreeMedicalJournals.
The Lancet New England Journal of Medicine
Connecticut Health Resources a directory compiled by Healthnet, the Connecticut Consumer Health Information Network
Connecticut Department of Public Health Lists the programs and services of the Department; also provides access to the state public health code, an agency contact directory (including local health departments), and publications and statistics; maintains Physician Profiles on all physicians licensed in the state
Nationwide (USA)
Assessing Efficacy of Medical Treatments (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) The federal government is trying to improve quality of care and lower cost of care by focusing on evidence-based medicine. "Research Activities", the AHRQ online newsletter, provides clear, concise summaries of research findings on effective medical treatments and medical practices; archives available from 1995 on.
Clinical Trials (Medlineplus) provides an overview and explanation of clinical trials, as well as access to information on specific ongoing research
Food and Nutrition Information Center at the National Agricultural Library The Federal Government's agency for the dissemination of nutrition information. Provides access to the National Nutrient Database (gives the nutrient value of more than 6600 foods) and to information on dietary supplements, dietary guidelines, etc.
Nutrition Navigator Tufts University provided a rating guide to nutrition websites, prior to May 31, 2005.