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Using
the Internet for Medial Research
This site is a supplement to the course taught by Alan Weaver. If you have any questions or wish to have him present to your group, please contact him via email.
info @ big-pic.net
This session covers medical research on the Internet. This term encompasses many topics from disease, ailment, to living a healthy lifestyle. You could receive information about how to treat illnesses, physical handicaps, and healthy food choices. When dealing with illness, the Internet is not to be used as a self-diagnosis tool. This means that if you have a sore wrist, don’t “Google” the term “sore wrist” in hopes of feeling better. See a doctor! As there are billions of websites, you have to make sure that you are obtaining correct information. Disinformation (lies disguised as fact) can prolong suffering and may actually cause deterioration in health.
Topics covered
in this course
Search techniques in Google and other websites
Hospital websites
Doctor websites
Pharmaceutical websites
Alternative (i.e. holistic) health techniques
You will see numerous websites and organizations listed to and referred to in this handout. None of them constitutes a recommendation, endorsement, or approval by the author. Instructor has used these websites for general research and demonstration purposes only. Some of the sites included in this handout were provided by friends and MDs. The subject of trust that is mentioned in here from nonprofits and government may be beyond your beliefs. However, they do fall within the general guidelines of what is considered to be accurate data.
It’s important when doing this research that you know how to filter the information. There is considerable data available on the internet. As you may know, websites can end with .com, .org, .edu, .info, .gov, and many more. Please note that when a site ends with .com it means it is a commercial site and that they wish to either sell you something or there can be considerable advertising on the website.
Some of the more
reputable websites will possibly have the following suffixes:
.org nonprofit
.gov government
.edu education
The suffix does not guarantee the quality of the material on them.
Any information from Wikipedia should be taken with more than a grain of salt as
anyone can edit the information on this site. They supposedly have
experts on staff which will double check any information on the site if it is
changed.
Useful sites
A very useful general
site is webmd.com. They have a magazine which is often distributed for free in
doctor waiting rooms. A new site with videos on it is
www.videoMD.com Any doctor can upload
information to the site. However, accuracy is checked by the owner of the
site. You can search topics on it like YouTube and may find it useful.
Physician recommended websites:
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/
Some of the more popular sites:
Other sites
www.everydayhealth.com
www.EverydayHealth.com (heart health and diabetes)
www.guidelines.gov National Guidelines Clearinghouse
www.pubmed.gov database managed by the US government
Dr. Everett Koop (former surgeon general of the US) may be a bit controversial, but he has not been afraid to deal with issues such as smoking. Website for his foundation is: http://dms.dartmouth.edu/koop/
Note: www.drkoop.com is NOT his!
These two sites offer phone counseling, materials, brochures. They were used by a friend for her mom’s esophageal cancer
Lance Armstrong foundation (www.laf.org)
Cavernous malformation: www.angiomaalliance.org
Food
Allergies/Nutrition
Nut allergies
World's Healthiest Foods
Using Google
Google can be very useful to obtain information. Unfortunately when nearly
any term is “Googled,” you can get an overwhelming number of websites. Relax!
Usually the first few websites listed will have the best information.
“I’m feeling lucky” is often a good idea when trying to find a specific organization. For example, if you type in “Norwalk Hospital” and click on this button, you’ll get the home page for Norwalk Hospital.
Research the
disease
Very often, the
disease will have its own website, often (disease name).org. For example,
www.diabetes.org
will take you to the website for the national organization. If this method
doesn’t work you can Google the organization. This website contains more than
just information about diabetes; it has recipes, nutrition/exercise, research,
information for parents, and more including message boards.
Message Boards
What is a message
board? It can be a blog, a chat room, or a place where information is
voluntarily posted online. You’re often required to have an account (almost
always free) and can read information that is posted online. You can ask a
specific question and other members will offer their advice. Again, remember
that you don’t want other members to be your doctor, they can give you some
feedback on medications that they’ve taken, what’s worked for them, and they can
also provide some emotional support to get you through the situation.
Although these areas can be of significant assistance to you, you can find yourself spending considerable time online just reading and typing messages. Also, please remember that the internet is not always the most private place so be careful of what you post as the rest of the world is able to read it.
Other Internet Resources
Does your doctor or the practice have a website? Information is often about their specific practice, education, hours, etc., but they often provide additional information, possibly additional links. You will find their sites to be helpful for forms, driving directions, services, biographies on staff, etc.
Hospitals often have extensive websites. In addition to additional links, they often offer services that that include support groups, educational programs, community services, etc.
Information desk at your local library. The librarians are well trained in research. Although they aren’t MDs, they do know how to help you sort through the vast amounts of available data
Finding the best doctor
Often referrals can be helpful. Larger cities often have bigger hospitals and more access to information. Connecticut Magazine and New York Magazine annually publish lists of “the better” doctors which are evaluated by their peers.
Book available:
Top Doctors in the NY Metro Area, $24.95
www.castleconnolly.com
ISBN: 18833769205
When you find the “best doctor” and require surgery, make sure that this MD will be doing the work and not an assistant. Too often some top doctors will delegate the secondary tasks to another associate.
Finding
Hospitals
www.QualityCheck.org This
website allows you to find hospitals in different areas, specialties. You can do
a national search on a disease if you wish. Evaluations are not provided on the
hospitals. However, accreditations are indicated for specific hospitals.
Example, if you research multiple sclerosis, you will see that certain
facilities such as Brigham and Women's Hospital and Vanderbilt University have
met standards set forth by The Joint Commission.
The magazine, U.S. News and World Reports, provides an annual report on hospital quality.