If you are a patient or caregiver and wish to research a certain illness/condition or simply locate general information that may be useful for patients, then you will need to know which medical sources are reliable and which are not. As you know, not all information found on the internet is accurate, so you need to know where to start and what information you can trust. We recommend that you hire a health care navigator to assist you with medical research, in order to ensure that you obtain the most accurate and up-to-date information available. However, we understand that you may wish to conduct your own research as well. Therefore, we have compiled a list of websites, separated into categories, to help you get started. Please note that the following list of websites is not comprehensive; it is merely a starting point. Inclusion on the list does not necessarily indicate endorsement, and omission does not necessarily indicate disapproval.
Please CONTACT US if you have any questions or need additional resources and/or guidance based on your unique circumstances.
REVIEW ARTICLES (SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH DONE ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC)
Medscape— www.medscape.com (free; registration required)
UpToDate— www.uptodate.com (paid yearly subscription; most current review articles available; clinical community includes over 4,400 expert clinicians who function as authors, editors and peer reviewers and over 400,000 users who provide feedback and questions)
MedlinePlus— www.nlm.nih.gov
www.rarediseases.org (from the National Organization for Rare Disorders)
www.cochrane.org (The Cochrane Collaboration)
New England Journal of Medicine— www.nejm.org
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
PubMed— www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (abstracts)
Oxford Journals— www.oxfordjournals.org
Springerlink— www.springerlink.com
NIH-REPORTER— projectreporter.nih.gov (database of NIH-funded research)
Ingentaconnect— www.ingentaconnect.com
www.drugs.com (free online source for researching drug interactions)
The Effective Health Care Program— www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov (from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
PEDIATRICS
emedicine.medscape.com/pediatrics
www.healthychildren.org (from the American Academy of Pediatrics)
CANCER
www.cancer.gov (National Cancer Institute)
www.cancer.org (American Cancer Society)
www.curetoday.com (provides scientific information in easy-to-understand language; free subscriptions available; published by Cancer Information Group)
www.cancercare.org (counseling, monthly calendar of educational programs, information and referrals, on-line support, e-newsletter)
beyondtheshock.com (contains video to gain basic understanding of breast cancer and treatments as well as personal video accounts from women diagnosed with breast cancer)
CLINICAL TRIALS
www.clinicaltrials.gov (registry and results database of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world; this website provides information about a trial’s purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details; for use in conjunction with advice from health care professionals)
OVERVIEWS OF SPECIFIC HEALTH CONDITIONS (PHYSICIAN-AUTHORED)
AND LINKS TO CURRENT NEWS
INFORMATION FROM TOP MEDICAL CENTERS
Mayo Clinic— www.mayoclinic.com
Johns Hopkins— www.hopkinsmedicine.org
Sloan-Kettering— www.mskcc.org
SUPPORT GROUPS/ON-LINE FORUMS
Breast cancer— www.komen.org (from Susan G. Komen for the Cure)
Cancer— www.cancer.net (from the American Society of Clinical Oncology)
Celiac disease— www.celiac.org (from the Celiac Disease Foundation)
Sjogren’s Syndrome— www.sjogrens.org (from the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation)
PATIENT EMPOWERMENT ADVICE
patients.About.com (from Trisha Torrey)
www.EveryPatientsAdvocate.com (“empowering patients and their advocates” from Trisha Torrey)
www.e-patients.net (“because health professionals can’t do it alone”)
www.YourRecordSpeaks.org (understand your health information rights & the importance of your medical record, & learn how to correct inaccuracies that could mean the difference between life and death)
OLDER ADULTS
NIH Senior Health— www.nihseniorhealth.gov (health videos, healthy living tips, inspiring stories of older adults coping with disease)
www.cdc.gov (from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention)
nimh.nih.gov (from the National Institute of Mental Health)
www.geron.org (from the Gerontological Society of America)
www.aarp.org (from AARP)
HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS AND MEDICAL ERRORS
www.cdc.gov (from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
iom.edu (from the Institute of Medicine)
www.nlm.nih.gov (from Medline Plus)
www.fda.gov (from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
COMPARING HOSPITALS, DOCTORS, AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov (from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
HEALTH INSURANCE
www.healthcare.gov (understanding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010)
www.healthcare.org (health insurance options by state)
HEALTH CARE RESOURCES FOR MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS
www.massresources.org (find state-funded health care programs)
Health Care For All— www.hcfama.org (organization dedicated to making adequate and affordable health care accessible to everyone)
“Best Hospitals in Boston, MA”— health.usnews.com (from U.S. News, 2012)
