Townlink Health Sites

Westchester Health

The past year has witnessed an explosion in the popularity of Web sites dedicated to medicine and health. Below is a roundup of some of the best sites online today. Keep in mind, however, that no Web site is guaranteed to be accurate, and can never act as a substitute for a face-to-face meeting with a doctor.

The sites are organized into categories, listed below:

	Indicates that the site is nonprofit or government-operated
	Indicates that the site is geared toward medical professionals

General Health Sites
		DrKoop.com - www.drkoop.com
		Westchester Community Network
		Mid-Westchester Health Online Healthcare information designed to improve the quality of life for those residing in Mid-Westchester and surrounding areas.
		WebMD - www.webmd.com Includes sections for professionals and for consumers. Lets you track your health records online.
		OnHealth - www.onhealth.com
		ThriveOnline - www.thriveonline.com A large site affiliated with Oxygen, the womens' network.
		Achoo Gateway to Healthcare - www.achoo.com A gateway site, with links to many other sites. You can search for links, or browse by category.
		InteliHealth - www.intelihealth.com
		HealthCentral.com - www.healthcentral.com Not organized as clearly as some other large sites, but includes an option for a personalized homepage. Also includes offbeat topics such as "medical humor" and "pet health."
		HealthAtoZ.com - www.healthatoz.com
		Mayo Clinic Health Oasis - www.mayohealth.org Not as large as other sites in this category, but far less commercialized.
		Discovery Health - www.discoveryhealth.com Permits users to search but not browse for specific medical conditions. Affiliated with the Discovery Channel.
		CBS HealthWatch - www.healthwatch.medscape.com Similar to other large health sites. Lets you track your health and fitness online. Affiliated with the CBS television network.
		Healthfinder - www.healthfinder.gov A site operated by the US government's Department of Health and Human Services. Includes an excellent search engine based mostly on government and academic sources. Includes pages in Spanish.
		Medical Matrix - www.medmatrix.org Although it requires you to register before gaining access to the site, Medical Matrix delivers a massive assortment of links on a great number of medical topics. Although much of the site of intended mainly for clinicians, the "Patient Education" section listed at the top of the main page ranks many popular consumer-oriented Web sites.
		New York Online Access to Health - www.noah.cuny.edu A site available in both Spanish and English, NOAH offers a search engine and selection of topics comparable to other large health sites.
		AmericasDoctor - www.americasdoctor.com Chat privately with real doctors via this site. Heavily affiliated with the pharmaceutical industry.
		HealthSCOUT - www.healthscout.com After taking a health risk survey at this site, you can sign up for a customized home page or E-mail updates on subjects specific to your health. Also offers some search features.
Specific Subjects
		American Cancer Society - www.cancer.org Large site including news, information on fundraisers, a listing of local branches, and information in Spanish.
		American Heart Association - www.americanheart.org Information about heart disease and stroke. Includes risk assessment, nutritional, and fitness information.
		American Diabetes Association - www.diabetes.org Includes a book store, grocery store, and children's' section.
		Arthritis National Research Foundation - www.curearthritis.org Large site about various forms of arthritis.
		OncoLink - www.oncolink.com A resource provided by the University of Pennsylvania's Cancer Center. Includes information on prevention, alternative treatment, and handling the side effects and financial burdens of cancer therapy.
		YourSurgery.com - www.yoursurgery.com Maintains detailed information on a few dozen of the most common surgical procedures, including alternatives to surgery, possible complications, and post-op recovery.
		Mediconsult.com - www.mediconsult.com Includes basic information, journal articles, and discussion groups, with a focus on chronic conditions.
		Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - www.cdc.gov The US government's Centers for Disease Control is famous for studying exotic and dangerous diseases such as Ebola, but the site provides plenty of mundane health info, as well. The CDC also provides a travel health guide for those planning to visit foreign countries.
		National Women's Health Information Center - www.4women.org Includes information in Spanish.
		American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - www.acog.org Includes lots of information targeted towards the average person.
		PedsNet - www.pedsnet.org A site run by pediatricians and acclaimed by parents. Includes information on food safety, immunizations, and pregnancy, as well as a large FAQ section.
		Familydoctor.org - www.familydoctor.org Medical information for the whole family. Includes diagnostic flowcharts and an impressive collection of health information pages.
		Drug-Free resource Net - www.drugfreeamerica.org Heavily geared toward parents of teens.
		American Lung association - www.lungusa.org Information on asthma, occupational health hazards, and tobacco, among other topics. Includes a section in Spanish. The site also features tactics for quitting smoking.
		Real Age - www.realage.com Tests predict your expected life span. Also includes useful guides for minor health problems and an E-mail news service.
		Center for Mental Health Services - www.mentalhealth.org Provided by the US government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Information for professionals, patients, kids, and even policymakers. Includes a section on prevention of school violence, and a section in Spanish.
		National Mental Health Association - www.nmha.org Includes fact sheets, discussion boards, policy updates, and other resources.
		Online Psych - www.onlinepsych.com Features a series of interactive tests about IQ, career interests, relationships, and other subjects.
Healthy Living
		American Medical Association - www.ama-assn.org Although the AMA's site is primarily for professionals, the "Consumer Health" section includes an interactive fitness planner, as well as lots of general medical information.
		Netsweat - www.netsweat.com Fitness information on several categories of sports, FAQs for fitness teachers, and E-mail advice from trainers.
		American Dietetic Association - www.eatright.org Includes nutrition fact sheets, grocery shopping tips, and recipes.
		Nutrition Analysis Tool - spectre.ag.uiuc.edu/~food-lab/nat Analyses your daily diet for calories, protein, and other nutritional information.
		Cyberdiet.com - www.cyberdiet.com Sections on weight loss, healthy cooking, and other subjects, plus a page that helps you plan a menu based on a desired daily calorie intake.
		FDA Consumer Advice page - vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/advice.html The FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition includes dozens of consumer FAQs on subjects such as dietary fiber, fat consumption, and reading nutrition labels. The FAQs are categorized at the top of the page.
Pharmaceuticals
		PlanetRx - www.planetrx.com Online drug seller with options for a personalized home page.
		Drugstore.com - www.drugstore.com Average online drug store.
		DrugEmporium.com - www.drugemporium.com Another large online drug seller, with hyperlinks to DrKoop.com.
		VitalRx.com - www.vitalrx.com Typical online drug store.
		YesRx.com - www.yesrx.com Online pharmacy, plus information on life and health insurance, senior citizen care, and a host of common drugs.
		Priority Pharmacy Online - www.prioritypharmacy.com Average online pharmacy, plus a few health information pages. Includes a version in Spanish.
		Food and Drug Administration - www.fda.gov The FDA is the US government's pharmaceutical regulatory agency. The site includes information on drugs, cosmetics, foods, and tobacco. It also includes MedWatch, a section listing all safety notifications ordered by the FDA.
		Mayo Clinic Medicine Center - www.mayohealth.org/usp/di/uspA-AM.htm Lists possible side effects of prescription drugs.
		CenterWatch - www.centerwatch.com Lists drugs recently approved by the FDA, plus thousands of clinical trials currently in progress.
Research
		Combined Health Information Database - www.chid.nih.gov Operated by several government agencies, CHID is a large bibliographic database, including abstracts and availability information.
		National Library of Medicine PubMed - www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/PubMed/ Searchable database of over 11 million citations, including some links to online full-text journals.
		Medscape - www.medscape.com Mostly geared toward medical professionals and medial students. The "Medline" search feature, however, tends to return hits from journals that are relatively consumer-friendly. You must register with Medscape before you can search on Medline.
Miscellaneous
		HealthGrades.com - www.healthgrades.com Ranks hospitals, doctors, and nursing homes, and health plans.
		Herb Research Foundation - www.herbs.org Tens of thousands of articles about the medicinal effects of herbs and minerals.
		Alt Med Primer - www.seanet.com/~vettf/Primer.htm Links to articles on alternative medicine and therapy. Produced by a veterinary task force created by the National Council for Reliable Health Information, a nonprofit organization.
		Spine-health.com A Comprehensive resource for back pain.