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 health care provider, you must carefully select and evaluate medical/health information before using it to treat patients or letting it influence how you perform your duties.
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?" If the answer is "no," don't include such non-credible information in your academic projects either!
Associations and Regulatory Organizations
American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
- Certified Coding Specialist – Physician based (CCS-P)
- Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT®) Exam
Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM)
Greater Illinois Chapter of HIMSS
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
Career & Resume Resources
- COD Library's Career & College Information Collection (CCIC)Located on the 2nd floor of the Library (3rd floor of the SRC building), CCIC provides online and print information on educational opportunities, occupational choices and job-seeking skills. This multimedia collection can assist you in planning for your educational, career and employment goals. Resources cover writing resumes & cover letters, preparing for certification exams, preparing for job interviews, and occupational information (salaries/wages and job outlook)
- COD's Career Services CenterCareer Services at College of DuPage offers a variety of resources to help individuals with their short and long-term career goals and help businesses with staffing needs.
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
HIT Resources
The following websites have been recommended by faculty and the health science librarian as useful for student assignments and professional practice.
- 211 DuPageFormerly known as C.R.I.S., a fast and easy way to obtain basic information on social service programs throughout DuPage County [ Mozilla Firefox browser is recommended, Internet Explorer sometimes does not display correctly]
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the safety and quality of healthcare for all Americans. AHRQ develops the knowledge, tools, and data needed to improve the healthcare system and help consumers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers make informed health decisions.
- AHIMA's HIM Body of Knowledge™AHIMA's HIM Body of Knowledge is designed to enable HIM professionals to quickly and easily access the information needed to be successful professionals. Anchored by AHIMA-owned content and complemented by links to public material, the Body of Knowledge encompasses the theory and practice of health information management
- American Hospital Association (AHA)The American Hospital Association (AHA) is the national organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities. AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends.
- Becker’s Hospital ReviewThe Becker’s Hospital Review includes healthcare news and analysis, commentary and strategy from industry leaders, best practices and business guidance, and lists of noteworthy healthcare institutions and people.
- Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS)Contains coding guidelines as well as information on electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs, and a definition for the meaningful use of certified EHR technology CMS is responsible for drafting standards for the certification of EHR technology and the updating of health information privacy and security regulations under HIPAA.
- Data.Illinois.govIllinois Open Data Portal lets you find data across state, find facts about your state, lets you create maps and graphs, and lets you freely download the data for your own analysis. Many of these datasets are updated daily, and some even more often.
- DNV: Healthcare[On 1 March 2021 DNV GL became DNV] DNV is an international certification body and classification society specializing in technical assessment, advisory, and risk management. The Healthcare branch of DNV GL provides a hospital accreditation program that integrates the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Conditions of Participation with the ISO 9001 Quality Management Program.
- DuPage County Health DepartmentPromotes physical and emotional health; prevents illness and disability; protects health from environmental risk factors; and strives to assure the provision of accessible, quality services. Web site topics include: asthma, depression, bioterrorism, consumer services, dental services, DuPage safe food site, environmental health services, mental health services and men's and women's health sites
- Health & Human Services (HHS)The United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services
- Illinois Health & Hospital AssociationThe Illinois Health and Hospital Association is dedicated to advocating for Illinois’ more than 200 hospitals and nearly 40 health systems as they serve patients and communities throughout the state
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.
- National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)Points the way to health care that science says works. Studies how well health plans and doctors provide scientifically recommended care. Identifies organizations that are run in ways that make care better.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)A part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.
- National Library of Medicine (NLM)The world’s largest biomedical library, NLM maintains and makes available a large print collection and produces electronic information resources on a wide range of topics. It also supports and conducts research, development, and training in biomedical informatics and health information technology. In addition, the Library coordinates an 8,000+ member Network of the National Library of Medicine that promotes and provides access to health information in communities across the United States.
- Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)OSHA creates and enforces workplace safety standards.
- Office of Inspector General (OIG)The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has been at the forefront of the Nation's efforts to fight waste, fraud and abuse and to improving the efficiency of Medicare, Medicaid and more than 100 other Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) programs.
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is at the forefront of the administration’s health IT efforts and is a resource to the entire health system to support the adoption of health information technology and the promotion of nationwide, standards-based health information exchange to improve health care. ONC is organizationally located within the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- Peer Review Organization (PRO) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO)State Medicaid agencies are required to provide quality assurance and fee-for-service utilization review in the inpatient hospital settings for services provided to participants in the Medical Assistance program and Illinois contracts with a PRO/QIO to conduct this function. The department requires the PRO/QIO to assist the department in assuring that quality care is being provided to Medical Assistance program participants
- Telligen QI ConnectTelligen brings together healthcare providers to provide no-cost healthcare quality improvement expertise to people living and working with Medicare. Serving the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa and Oklahoma as a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), they harness the collective power of healthcare providers, communities and individuals to help drive improvement and change.
Legal Sites
Before going to the Web, have you tried this COD Library Database? (use your COD Network credentials to access)
- Westlaw Next
Westlaw Next is a comprehensive collection of law-related information resources along with news and business information. It contains information on primary law, analytical materials, litigation insights, case law, core legal reference materials, and much more. Students can find Black's Law Dictionary in Secondary Sources on the righthand side under Related Content.
Legal Websites
- FindLaw: Health Care LawA collection of policy and regulatory materials related to health care
- Illinois CourtsIllinois Courts contains Supreme, Appellate and Circuit Court information, including judges and opinions
- Legal Information InstituteFrom Cornell Law School
- Medical and Public Health Law SiteResources from Louisiana State University's Law School. Information on biotechnology, public health, and related topics
- OyezOyez (pronounced OH-yay)—a free law project from Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII), Justia, and Chicago-Kent College of Law—is a multimedia archive devoted to making the Supreme Court of the United States accessible to everyone. It is the most complete and authoritative source for all of the Court’s audio since the installation of a recording system in October 1955. Oyez offers transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and full-text Supreme Court opinions (through Justia). Oyez also provides detailed information on every justice throughout the Court’s history and offers a panoramic tour of the Supreme Court building, including the chambers of several justices.
- U.S. Supreme CourtOfficial web site for the Supreme Court of the United States