Search Engines

Search engines scan pages on the Internet for keywords. You supply the keywords. No single search engine reaches every corner of the Internet, so try another if you are not satisfied with your results. If you search on a multiple-word key (such as Japanese kite festivals), documents that contain all the keywords will appear first.

• Google - (http://www.google.com/)
  Popular search engine.

• Yahoo - (http://www.yahoo.com/)
  One of the first search engines. Yahoo is especially good for searching by category.

• Dogpile.com - (http://www.dogpile.com)
  Multiple engine search.

• Achoo - (http://www.achoo.com)
  A search engine linked to the Achoo database of Internet health sites.

Discussion Groups

People from around the world form virtual communities on the Internet to discuss topics of shared interest. Virtual communities have formed to discuss various health conditions. These groups of people, actively seeking education and perspective on a particular health condition, often share information about Internet sites that offer resources on that condition.

You can view and post to a newsgroup discussion using your web browser. You must subscribe to a mail list. Mail list postings will come directly to your e-mail box. Web forums are discussions that are posted on a web site. You can add your comments using a submission form at the web site hosting the discussion.

• CataList - (http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html)

• List of USENET FAQs - (http://www.faqs.org/)
  Searchable collection of newsgroup FAQs (frequently asked questions).

• Archives of ACOR Cancer Lists - (http://listserv.acor.org/archives)
  Searchable archive of the primary Internet cancer mailing lists, provided by the Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.

• The Sleep Forums - (http://www.sleepnet.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html)
  Web forums on sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome.

Patient Education

• Dr. Koop.com - (http://www.drkoop.com/

• Health Central - (http://www.healthcentral.com)
  Dr. Dean Edell's website

• Healthfinder - (http://www.healthfinder.gov)
  Online publications, databases, web sites, and support and self-help groups, as well as the government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable health information for the public.

• Medline Plus - (http://medlineplus.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/)
  The National Library of Medicine's MEDLINEplus pages are designed to be a first-stop resource. This site provides an overview explanation of most medical conditions, medical dictionaries, and illustrations. It also helps you search MedLine for recent articles.

• MedicineNet - (http://www.medicinenet.com/)
  A group of U.S. Board Certified Physicians working to provide current, comprehensive medical information, written in easy to understand language. Good medical dictionary and drug information on this site.

Medical Site Lists

• HeatlhWeb Resource List - (http://healthweb.org)
  Links selected by librarians and information professionals at leading academic medical centers.

• Internet Public Library Reference Center - (http://ipl.sils.umich.edu/div/subject/browse/hea00.00.00)

• Librarian's Index to the Internet - (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex)
  This site doesn't offer an overwhelming number of medical resources, but the sites listed are carefully reviewed.

• Karolinska Links to Surgical Procedures - (http://www.mic.ki.se/Diseases/E04.html)
  A list of links to all aspects of surgical procedures. Karolinska Institutet is in Sweden.

Many large web sites have search engines on them that will return all items containing a selected keyword. Some sites search specific collections of databased documents.

• HighBeam Research (previously eLibrary) - (http://www.highbeam.com/library/index.asp)
  Full-text database of magazine and newspaper articles. Cost is $19.95 a month for unlimited downloads. Free 7-day trial.

• Extoxnet - (http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet)
  Database of environmental toxins, such as pesticides, describing their currently known effects on humans.

• Medical Matrix - (http://www.medmatrix.org/index.asp)
  Ranked, peer-reviewed, annotated, updated clinical medicine resources. Cost is $14 per month or $89 per year.

• MD Consult.com - (http://www.mdconsult/)
  Full-text database of textbook information, physician guidelines, drug information, physician discussion groups, and patient handouts. Offers a free ten-day trial. Cost is $24.95 a month for Core Collection (free for first 30 days).

• Merck Manual - (http://www.merckhomeedition.com/)

Medical Journals

• Brandon-Hill Journal List - (http://nnlm.gov/libinfo/ejournals/branhill.html)
  List of major medical journals with links to free access when available.

• CANCERLIT - (http://www.cancer.gov/cancer_information/cancer_literature/)
  National Cancer Institute bibliographic database of articles from journals, proceedings, books, reports, and doctoral theses.

• FreeMedicalJournals.com - (http://www.FreeMedicalJournals.com/htm/english1.htm)
  Listing of magazines that provide free access to articles. A few offer current articles, some offer free access archived articles. Listings by title or by specialty.

• Links to online journals - (http://www.nnlm.nlm.nih.gov/libinfo/ejournals)
  National Library of Medicine links to directories of health sciences and general electronic journals.

• NewsLink - (http://www.newslink.org)
  American Journalism Review. Links to many major newspapers, magazines, and news service sites.

• PubList - (http://www.publist.com/)
  Detailed publication information on 150,000 domestic and international print and electronic publications including magazines, journals, e-journals, newsletters, and monographs.

• PubMed - (http://www.pubmed.gov)
  The National Institutes of Health now offer free access to MEDLINE®, the best-known database of medical literature. Full-text of the articles abstracted here can be ordered from local medical libraries.

Leading Edge Treatments

• Biomedicine and Health in the News - (http://library.uchc.edu/bhn/index.html)
  Quick reference to biomedical, scientific, and health journal articles cited in New York Times Newspaper articles. Includes unpublished reports from professional meetings as well.

• NIH Clincal Trials Database - (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)

• TrialsCentral - (http://www.trialscentral.org/)
  Offers a list of disease and disorder categories. Clicking on one of those takes you to a list of links to trial listings for that condition.

• More Clincal Trial Sites - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Xinfo.html)

• EurekAlert - (http://www.eurekalert.org/)
  Clearinghouse of scientific, medical, and technological press releases. Read the actual press releases the news reports are based on.

• PR Newswire - (http://www.prnewswire.com/news/index.shtml)
  Search for medical and biotech press releases.

• Reuters Health - (http://www.reutershealth.com/)
  Comprehensive health news and professional medical news.

• SEC EDGAR Filings - (http://www.FreeEDGAR.com)
  Look up a medical manufacturer's most recent 10K or 10Q SEC report. These reports provide precise information on where the company is in the product development cycle. Downloads are no longer free. Edgar Online is available by subscription.

• Amedeo, The Medical Literature Guide - (http://www.amedeo.com/)
  Free weekly e-mail describing new articles published in areas of medical interest to you.

• Medscape - (http://www.medscape.com)
  Medscape is a weekly index of key news and features compiled by Medscape's Editors. To have a list of articles in a particular specialty sent to your email address, sign up under "My Medscape."

• People Living with Cancer - (http://www.oncology.com)
  The latest oncology news, events, and promotions from the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO).

Provider Directories

• AMA Physician Select - (http://www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm)
  Information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States and its possessions.

• American Board of Medical Specialists (ABMS) - (http://www.abms.org/newsearch.asp)
  Publishers of the Official ABMS Directory of board certified physicians. Free registration.

• American College of Surgeons - (http://www.facs.org)
  Verify if your surgeon is board certified in a surgical specialty. Also provides lists such as the ACS list of accredited cancer treatment centers.

• American Hospital Directory - (http://ahd.com/)

• DocFinder - (http://www.docboard.org/)
  Physician database from state licensing boards. Offers license verification, complaints and inquiries, legal documents, and publications.

• HealthGrades - (http://www.healthgrades.com)
  Profiles and rates hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, and home health agencies. The profile is free. Fee for more comprehensive reports.

• National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. - (http://www.nbcc.org/)
  Information on individual state licensing for counselor/therapists. You can also request a list of counselors in your area certified by its member agencies. NBCC was created by the American Counseling Association to monitor the credentialing process.

Pharmaceutical Information

• DrugInfoNet - (http://www.druginfonet.com/)
  Insert information as well as a useful list of drug manufacturers and their contact information.

• MedWatch Safety Reports - (http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety.htm)
  Reports of adverse events reported to the FDA on prescription drugs and nutritional supplements.

• Drugs@FDA - Catalog of FDA Approved Drugs - (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/index.cfm).

• New Medicines in Development Database - (http://www.phrma.org/newmedicines)
  Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has compiled a database of pharmaceutical products in the research and testing phase. You can search by disease.

• RxList - The Internet Drug Index - (http://www.rxlist.com)

• Safemedications.com - (http://www.safemedication.com/)
  American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Type in drug name to see safe use information.

• US Patent Databases - (http://www.uspto.gov/patft/)
  Search on chemical name or patent number. Entry includes references submitted with application.

Disease-Specific Sites

• GrannyBarb and Art's Leukemia Links - (http://www.acor.org/leukemia/leukemia.html)
  A site full of pointers to Internet leukemia resources, created and maintained by two survivors.

• DermIS - (http://www.dermis.net/index_e.htm)
  Access to atlases of dermatological diagnoses with lots of images.

• Endometriosis: A Patient's Guide - (http://www.valis.com/andi/endo/endo.html)
  A patient's guide to understanding and living with endometriosis by Andrea Mankoski, a woman with endometriosis. Both her guide and her pain scale are valuable resources for other patients.

• Lung Cancer Online - (http://www.lungcanceronline.org/)
  Gateway to lung cancer resources. Designed and maintained by a librarian who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1998.

• National Association for Rare Disorders - (http://www.rarediseases.org)
  A site that will help you find information on unusual health conditions.

• Oncolink - http://oncolink.org
  Cancer site started by the University of PA Cancer Center. A great starting place for cancer information.

• Pancreatica.org - (http://www.pancreatica.org)
  Information on pancreatic cancer trials, treatments, news, and frequently asked questions.

• Shared Experience - (http://www.sharedexperience.org)
  Collection of cancer survivors willing to share experiences and connect with people making treatment decisions.

• UCLA Patient Learning Series - (http://www.medctr.ucla.edu/pls/index.htm)
  Information on various diseases and conditions.

• More Examples - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Disease.html)

Complimentary and Alternative Treatment Sites

• Alternative Health - (http://members.aol.com/altamed/inter.htm)
  Directory of Natural Medicine Homepages

• Alternative Medicine Digest - (http://www.alternativemedicine.com/)

• Alternative Medicine Home Page - (http://www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html)

• Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine - (http://www.alternative-therapies.com)
  A peer-reviewed journal on the practical use of alternative therapies. Unfortunately, they do not offer article text, just the table of contents of each issue.

• Food and Nutrition Information Center - (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/)
  USDA and University of Maryland nutrition information for consumers.

• HerbMed - (http://www.herbmed.org/)
  Database on the use of herbs for health with links to studies.

• IBIDS Database - (http://ods.od.nih.gov/databases/ibids.html)
  The International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) database, produced by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture, contains bibliographic records and abstracts published in international scientific journals on vitamins, minerals, herbal and botanical supplements.

• National Center for Alternative and Complementary Medicine - (http://nccam.nih.gov)
  National Institutes of Health. Center to study the use and effectiveness of alternative treatments for a variety of diseases and conditions.

Nutrition Sites

• Tufts Nutrition Navigator - (http://navigator.tufts.edu/index.html)
  Links to nutrition websites reviewed by Tufts University nutritionists.

• Nutrition.gov - (http://www.nutrition.gov)
  User-friendly government site with lots of links.

Other Places to Look

• Organizations - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Organize.html)
  A good example is Alliance for Lung Cancer - (http://www.alcase.org)

• Hospitals and Research Centers - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Hospital.html)

• Libraries and Bookstores - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Libraries.html)

Useful Information

Tools

• Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body - (http://www.bartleby.com/107/)

• Lab Tests Online - (http://www.labtestsonline.org/index.html)
  Answers questions about lab tests in general and specific lab tests.

• Drawings, photographs, X-Rays etc. - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Xinfo.html)

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - (http://www.ahcpr.gov)
  Clinical Information and Consumer Health sections are especially useful.

• National Guideline Clearinghouse - (http://www.guideline.gov)

• Primary Care Clinical Practice Guidelines - (http://medicine.ucsf.edu/resources/guidelines)

• Find Bill in California Legislature by Keyword - (http://www.sen.ca.gov/~newsen/legislation/legislation.htp)

• Find Bill in U.S. Congress by Keyword - (http://thomas.loc.gov)

• HealthInsuranceInfoNet - (http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/)
  Health insurance consumer guides for each state.

• NCQA Health Plan Report Card - (http://hprc.ncqa.org/index.asp)

• Medical Insurance Board (MIB)(http://www.mib.com)
  Association of life insurance companies in the US and Canada. The MIB maintains a database of coded records on many insured individuals medical conditions, tests, etc. For a small fee, you can request a copy of your own record. The application is on the web site.

• NAIC Insurance Regulators - (http://www.naic.org)
  Find the Department of Insurance for your state.

• Health Care Policy and Statistics - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Xinfo.html)

• Access-able Travel Source - (http://www.access-able.com)
  Access information for mature and disabled travelers.

• CDC - (http://www.cdc.gov)
  Traveler's health, health topics, news, data and statistics. Check out Hoaxes and Rumors.

• Food and Drug Administration - (http://www.fda.gov).

• Medicare - (http://www.medicare.gov)
  Participating physician list, nursing home and dialysis facility comparisons, prescription drug assistance programs, and Medicare coverage information.

• National Institutes of Health - (http://www.nih.gov/icd)
  Links to all 27 Institutes and Centers. The National Cancer Institute (http://www.nci.nih.gov), for instance.

• Nurses Websites - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Nurses.html)

• Sites on Aging - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Aging.html)

• Urban Legends - (http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/)
  The place to look when you receive emails such as the warning about the deadly toilet spider.

• Women's Health Sites - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Women.html)

Evaluating Health Sites

• Dr. Joseff's Website - (http://www.sbneph.com)
  Darol Joseff, MD, comments on the Internet as a source of information and avoiding misinformation. He also provides a listing of sites that offer reliable information.

• Science Online - How to Read a Scientific Article - (http://cbcs.med.unc.edu/science.htm)

• Thinking Critically About Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources - (http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/discipline.htm)

• Museum of Questionable Medical Devices - (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/MNMINmed.html)
  Examples from Bob McCoy's collection of unusual medical devices.

• National Council on Health Fraud - (http://www.ncahf.org)
  Non-profit voluntary health agency that focuses its attention upon health fraud, misinformation and quackery as public health problems.

• QuackWatch - (http://www.quackwatch.com/)
  Articles by Stephen Barrett M.D., a retired psychiatrist/writer.

• Health On the Net Foundation - (http://www.hon.ch/)
  HON is a Swiss non-profit foundation. Their mission is to guide both lay users and medical professionals to reliable sources of healthcare information in cyberspace.

• TRUSTe - (http://www.hon.ch/)
  An organization dedicated to addressing Internet privacy concerns. Explains the meaning of the TRUSTe mark and provides safety tips for savvy Internet surfers.

Local Links

• Breast Resource Center of Santa Barbara - (http://www.breastresourcecenter.org)

• Cancer Center of Santa Barbara - (http://www.ccsb.org)

• Hospice of Santa Barbara, Inc. - (http://www.hospiceofsantabarbara.org)

• Reeves Medical Library - (http://glas.sbch.org)

• Sansum-Santa Barbara Medical Clinic - (http://www.sansum.com)

• Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital - (http://www.cottagehealthsystem.org)

• Santa Barbara County Alcohol and Drug Program - (http://www.silcom.com/~sbadp/)

• Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care of Santa Barbara - (http://www.vnhcsb.org/index.htm)

Breast Cancer Resources

• Breast Cancer Information Sampler - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/bcinfo.html)

Please Note:

Neither this list nor the linked lists are intended as comprehensive coverage of all that is available on the Internet. They are not intended as "best of" lists. They are only meant to show the variety and detail of information available over the Internet.

They were compiled from bookmarked sites used by Lucy Thomas (lucy.thomas@cox.net), Dr. Darol Joseff (djoseff@sbneph.com), Nancy Oster (noster@silcom.com), and Dr. Stephen Lewis. They reflect our personal interests.

Our Book!
Making Informed Medical Decisions - http://www.ora.com/catalog/makinginf/
Everything you need to know about making medical decisions... we wish. Actually, it's an in-depth discussion of how to gather, evaluate, and use medical information to help make treatment decisions.

Go to Nancy Oster's home page, Reeves Medical Library web page, Dr. Joseff's web site.

Go to Scavenger Hunt Page - (http://www.silcom.com/~noster/Scav.html)