Health related web-sites have great value because of their breadth and how quickly recent information can get spread. Unfortunately, the quality of the information that is on the internet varies from excellent to awful and even fraudulent. In addition, information taken off the web needs to then be tailored to a person’s unique circumstances. That is where having a good relationship with a physician is so important. In addition, much information on the web stays on for a long time and may not be up to date. All information derived from web-sites, including this one, needs to be read with a lot of scrutiny and care. You should also try to check out information from multiple sources and make sure that the source of the information on  the web is referenced, preferably from reputable scientific journals.

There is an organization, hi-ethics.com that is attempting to accredit health related web-sites based on their content. Unfortunatley, this effort is just under way.

Based on my experience, here is a list of web-sites that have reputable and current information. If you have other web-sites that you would like me to review, please let me know.

I do not have any relationship, financial, or otherwise with any of the sites and companies listed below.

Category Name My Comments General Health Information Mayo Clinic Very good quality information. Their health risk assessment is worth taking Intellihealth Content written by professors at Harvard Medical School Centers for Disease Control Excellent information on immunizatons and also on preparation for travel abroad. WebMD Most popular consumer health site Familydoctor.org Patient information web-site of the American Academy of Family Physicians Complementary and Alternative Medicine National Institutes of Health Balanced and highly scientific approach. There are a lot of topics, however, that are not covered Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center   MD Anderson Cancer Center Integrative Medicine Mainly focused on alternative therapies and cancer Herb Med   Natural Data Base   Natural Standard     Consumerlab This site also gets content from The Natural Pharmacist. It also tests vitamins, minerals, herbs, and supplements for purity and ability to be absorbed in the body. It is a subscription site (you must pay a fee of $17.95). If you use a lot of herbs and supplements, you might find it to be worthwhile. Access to Clinical Trials National Institutes of Health First place to go if you want to find out about participating in a clinical trial Cancer National Cancer Institute Has separate sites for patients and health professionals, but lay people can access both. Generally up to date Heart failure Heart Failure Society of America OMPRO Two excellent sites for people with heat failure. They have good information and tools for people to use. Also try the American Heart Association’s web-site