Deschutes Public Library

General Medical Information

MEDLINEplus
Current, accurate, in depth medical information for both professionals and medical consumers. Includes information on common health topics, and PubMed, a user-friendly version of MEDLINE, the world’s largest index to professional medical journals.

Healthfinder 
Consumer health information and health databases produced by government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and universities. Current medical news.

Mayo Health Oasis 
Articles written for the layman on disease and health topics by Mayo Clinic personnel.

NOAH: New York Online Access to Health
A bilingual gateway to medical information in English and Spanish.

Specific Conditions

MedlinePLUS Health Topics 
These pages, assembled by the National Library of Medicine, are a good place to begin research on specific conditions. Use the alphabetical index to look up topics.

Oncolink: University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center 
A comprehensive web site for cancer information--news, book reviews, videos to download, and information from basic to highly technical on specific cancers and on related topics like complementary medicine, clinical trials, financial issues, support and grieving, and cancer prevention.

HIV InSite
An in depth source of information on HIV from the University of California, San Francisco. Information on prevention and care, answers to AIDS-related questions, current news and a guide to authoritative HIV information on the Web.

Wellness/Fitness

OHSU’s Consumer Health Links
Scroll down to the "Personal Health" area for links to health information organized by age group--adolescents, children, men, women, and seniors.

Tufts University Nutrition Navigator
Rates nutrition sites for their content, currency, and ease of use. Quick access to reliable information on general nutrition and fitness, and information for those with special dietary needs.

KidsHealth 
Separate sections are written for parents, for kids, and for teens.

Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Centers
Part of the Mayo Health Oasis web site.  General nutrition, fitness, and workplace health information and advice, plus health information for different age groups.  

Drug Information

MEDLINEplus Drug Information 
Information from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ MedMaster and the U.S. Pharmacopoeia for thousands of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

U. S. Food and Drug Administration 
This agency regulates food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and radiation-emitting products. Check here for safety alerts, product approvals, and FDA news and regulations.

HerbMed
The Alternative Medicine Foundation presents evidence-based information on 149 herbs. Search by scientific or common name.

Holistic/Alternative Therapies

Ask NOAH about: Complementary and Alternative Medicine
A basic introduction to alternative medicine and to the different therapies, plus links to online alternative health magazines, to educational programs, and to organizations that are watchdogs for fraudulent claims. Check NOAH’s "Complementary and Alternative Treatments" link under specific diseases for alternative therapies related to a specific condition.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine 
A science-based look at the therapies themselves and at alternative treatments for specific conditions. Current CAM research and clinical trials information. Advice for health consumers who use or are considering CAM treatments.

Health Provider Information

Oregon Board of Medical Examiners 
Look here for physicians who are licensed to practice in Oregon, records of complaints, etc.

AMA Physician Select
Gives education, certifications, awards, and current practice information for members of the American Medical Association.

American Board of Medical Specialties 
Includes a database of board-certified medical specialists, which can be searched for free after registering.  For more information—education and contact information—check the ABMS Directory in the Bend Reference Collection.

American Hospital Directory  
A private company’s web site, that offers federally-collected statistical measures of a hospital’s service. 

Nursing Home Compare
Information about the past performance of all Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes.

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization  
Information about hospice care, plus a searchable directory of hospice programs.

Health Insurance

Choosing and Using a Health Care Plan
Excellent advice on shopping for health insurance, from the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

Oregon Dept. of Human Services, Office of Medical Assistance Programs
For information on the Oregon Health Plan—coverage and eligibility.

Medicare 
Answers questions about Medicare, with links to information on nursing homes, physicians who accept Medicare insurance, prescription assistance programs, etc.

Oregon Dept. of Consumer & Business Services, Insurance Division
Information on insurance companies authorized to do business in Oregon and how to file a complaint. The SHIBA program helps Medicare beneficiaries understand their rights and provides information on purchasing supplementary health insurance.

Local Health Links

St. Charles Medical Center 
Find out about classes and support groups at St. Charles. The Carewise information service provides basic answers to questions about symptoms and common health problems.

Central Oregon Community Hospital’s Community Education Classes
A list of classed offered by COCH, including CPR, babysitting, child birth, and weight control.

Deschutes County Health Department
Public health services provided by this agency include family planning, child health care, support for pregnant women and teen parents, immunizations, and communicable disease control.

Answer Link
A directory of human service resource agencies in Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson and Lake counties. Click on a county, and then on the kind of assistance needed.

Medical Research Resources

Adam Medical Encyclopedia
Articles on diseases, injuries, symptoms, tests, and surgical procedures.

10 Things to Know about Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web
From the National Cancer Institute: a checklist of questions to ask when evaluating medical information found on the web.

Health on the Net Foundation (HON)
An international nonprofit that provides a search tools for finding reliable health information online and sets ethical standards for web sites that offer medical information. Sites displaying the HONcode symbol subscribe to principles that include displaying qualifications to give medical advice, a clear statement of sponsorship/funding, and respect for the privacy of visitors to the site.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Source for information about contagious diseases and other public health topics, and U.S. disease and health statistics. It also addresses environmental health and occupational health concerns, and issues traveler’s health advisories.

ClinicalTrials.gov 
A searchable database of current clinical research studies. Includes questions to ask when deciding to participate in a clinical trial.