How to Find the Medical Information You Want on the Internet

With the ever-expanding wealth of information available on the Web, many people are interested in investigating health problems for themselves or a loved one, and are conducting their own online medical research into diseases and treatment options. Millions of articles are published each year on many aspects of medicine, and this explosion of information leaves both the doctors and patients in a race to keep up.

Today, most societies and medical groups base their recommendations on a multifaceted approach called evidence-based medicine, which integrates research evidence with clinical expertise in the diagnosis and management of patients. This is a way of ensuring that what is recommended is supported by the facts. Evidence-based medicine is based on scientific research and a systematic review of the medical literature, and it supports the continuing education of practicing professionals. All of this is due to emerging research and evolving treatments. As medical professionals, we must:

• Be smart about asking patients the right medical questions.
• Ensure that the information we research is correct and appropriate for the patient's situation.
• Arrive at an answer that is covered by the patient's health insurance plan, and which applies to that particular case.
• Understand how likely the patient is to accept the risks and toxicities of varying treatments.

The good news for patients is that they have access to much of the same information that medical professionals do. The more knowledge and information you have, the more control you will be able to exert over your treatment. It will also help you better understand your treatment options. Following are some of the search tools that I use as a physician.

• For general medical information, including drug information, I use EMedicine, a subsidiary of WebMD, and Revolution Health.
• For general medical problems, I visit the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making and Health Dialog.
• The National Guideline Clearinghouse is an excellent resource for standard of care options for various diseases. It gathers the practice guidelines from hundreds of institutions and publishes them under one site.
• To find evidence-based recommendations, you can go to the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine, the Evidence-based Medicine Resource Center and PubMed, which is a collaboration between the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
• For disease-specific recommendations, go to MedlinePlus. MedlinePlus also offers a helpful tutorial to assist in learning how to evaluate the health information that you find on the Web.
• For cancer research, I always start with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. A collaboration of 13 major cancer centers, the organization has developed what they believe to be the standard of care for each cancer.
• For lists of available studies I go to The Society for Clinical Trials.

Posted in Get Organized: Tools for Caregiving, Senior Health