Skip to Main Content

Consumer Health Resources: Health Websites

Resources and tips for patients and health consumers

Need Help?

 

Need research help and not sure where to turn? Get help from the library via email, chat, and online appointments or stop by one of our reference desks during open hours of operation. 

Want to contact your Nursing & Health Sciences Librarian or set up a virtual or F2F appointment with her? Email Debra Smith: smithkak@cod.edu

Using Websites

 

ANYONE can put information on the Internet. As a patient, caregiver or health care consumer, you must carefully select and evaluate medical/health information before using it to treat yourself or someone for whom you care.

Check out this helpful article: Find and Evaluate Health Information on the Web from the Medical Library Association.

Use the evaluating sources section of this guide to help you determine the credibility of Web sites. A great final test is to ask yourself, "Would I want myself or someone that I care deeply about to be treated based on this information?"

Disclaimer

The College of DuPage and the C.O.D. Library do not create or control any of these resources, and they will not be held responsible for misuse of information or any adverse effects of recommendations stated in these resources.

Health Information should always be discussed with your health care provider, who can interpret it for you and apply it to your individual case.

Tips to Finding Information on the Internet

When searching via the Internet:

  • Isolate key concepts and words to be searched, including word variations and synonyms. Be as specific as you can (for example search “prostate cancer treatment” instead of “cancer”)
  • Determine the type of information needed (general or technical information? Information for an adult audience or children? Adolescents? Seniors?)
  • Use a search engine like Google http://www.google.com/ or take advantage of established, pre-selected Internet collections like:

MedlinePlus.gov from the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine

MLA Top Health Websites from the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of the MLA

General Medical Information Websites

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC.gov provides users with credible, reliable health information on topics such as: data and statistics; diseases and conditions; emergencies and disasters; environmental health; healthy living; injury, violence and safety; life stages and populations; travelers' health; workplace safety and health; and much more. This site contains information appropriate for adults, teens and kids

MEDLINEplus
Provides access to 900+ health topics, medical encyclopedias and dictionaries, and links to self-help groups, clinical trials, preformulated PubMed searches, lists of hospitals and physicians, health and information in Spanish and other languages. Includes listings of diseases & conditions by body system.

MedScape Reference
An online clinical reference providing in-depth drug & disease information and tools to support clinical decision making. Content is designed for practicing medical professionals and includes diagnostic medical images. Free Registration to MedScape is required. To quickly locate information on a disease or condition, try Googling the word emedicine and your disease/condition (i.e. emedicine pertussis). Once you access the article, login for full content.

Kidshealth
Created by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, this site offers families accurate, up-to-date, easy-to-understand health information. It has separate content areas for kids, teens, and parents written in an age-specific style

DuPage Community Resources

Diagnostic Medical Test Resources

Diet & Nutrition Sites

Before going to the Web, have you tried these COD Library Databases? (use your COD Network credentials to access)

Diet and Nutrition Websites

Drug & Pharmacy Resources

Before going to the Web, have you tried this COD Library Database? (use your COD Network credentials to access)

Drug Websites

DailyMed
Maintained by the National Library of Medicine, this site provides high quality drug information including FDA approved labels (package inserts). It is designed to supply health information providers and the public with a standard, comprehensive, up-to-date, look-up and download resource of medication content and labeling as found in medication package inserts

Drugs.com
A drug information database for consumers and medical professionals, providing information about prescription and over-the-counter medications, treatment notes for specific diseases and conditions, and topical articles and news related to pharmaceuticals

MEDLINEplus National Library of Medicine
Information on thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications provided through two drug resources -- MedMaster, a product of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), and the USP DI Advice for the Patient, a product of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP)

RxList - The Internet Drug Index
Contains a database of approximately 5,000 product names that is updated regularly including professional monographs derived from FDA approved labeling and patient-oriented monographs

SafeMedication.com
Easy-to-read information on more than 800 drugs sponsored by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)

  • URL: https://library.cod.edu/consumer
  • Last Updated: Mar 15, 2024 11:13 AM
  • Print Page