Resource Bank
Resource Bank
Harvard Med launches family health Web site
Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA, and Simon & Schuster in New York City recently launched www.health.harvard.edu/ fhg, the Web site that continually updates the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide as new health and medical information becomes available. The Web site does not include the entire book on-line but merely new information since the book went to press.
Information on the free Web site will refer users to specific pages of the book, when appropriate. The Web site also will include breaking medical news.
New site is interactive
Its features include the following:
• Updated information about wellness and illness from Harvard experts. Harvard research ers will scan the major medical jour nals to identify and evaluate the latest break ing health news.
• New, interactive symptom charts. The book contains 165 pages of charts to help readers know what to do when a worrisome symptom develops. The site contains additional symptom charts not in the book. Users work their way through the logic of these additional charts by answering questions in sequence.
• New, expanded information on drugs, serious drug-drug interactions, and drug-herb interactions. In addition to the book's extensive table of the most commonly prescribed drugs, the site will include new drugs, what they do, and potentially adverse drug-drug and drug-herb interactions.
• Interactive drug information. The site allows users to type in names of drugs and herbal treatments, and the computer will indicate any potentially serious interaction.
• Additional "When you visit your doctor" features. This feature takes a specific medical problem and walks a patient through every aspect of diagnosis and treatment from what questions the doctor is likely to ask to what tests probably will be ordered.
The 1,288-page book sells for $40 at retail book stores.
New Web site makes health care kid-friendly
Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis, TN, recently introduced a new Web site devoted to pediatric health. Located at www.pdparrot.org, the site is the home of P.D. Parrot, the system's pediatrics mascot.
The site includes bright puzzles, coloring pages, news, and games designed to teach health and safety information. Children also have access to recipes and health tips given in terms easily understood by children. The site includes a feature called "Ask Dr. Allright," which allows children to ask questions about health and safety topics.
NAHQ produces data improvement tool
The National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) in Glenview, IL, recently announced the availability of a new educational program, "A dash through data! Using data for improvements," to help health care professionals in all practice settings take the mystery out of using data for health care quality improvements.
Experts lead program participants through an overview of the uses of Pareto charts, histograms, run charts, scatter diagrams, and other tools that are becoming an expected part of today's health care quality improvement programs. The program also includes a reproducible workbook that includes content from the video, practice exercises, and answers for each section of the video, a self-study tool selection exercise, a quick reference pictorial toll list, a resource list, and a reproducible post test for nursing and certified professional in health care quality credit.
The program can be used for individual study or as a training tool for groups or staff. The cost is $99 for members and $125 for nonmembers. For more information, contact NAHQ, 4700 W. Lake Ave., Glenview, IL 60025-1485. Telephone: (800) 966-9392 or (847) 375-6320. Fax: (847) 375-6320. E-mail: [email protected]. Web site: www. nahq.org.
Interactive Web site to help cancer patients find resources
Affiliated Physicians Network in Fort Lee, NJ, a network of more than 150 cancer physicians actively engaged in clinical research, has expanded its Web site, www.cancerdocs.com. The site now includes an entire section for cancer patients. The new patient-focused section offers information about cancer clinical trials and provides cancer patients and their families a comprehensive list of publications and support resources. An interactive tool will help cancer patients match their conditions to currently available clinical trials.
New educational materials on sun safety available
The CutiScience Division of Galederma Laboratories in Fort Worth, TX, offers a new patient booklet, educational poster, and sun safety display on the importance of year-round sun protection from both ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B radiation.
The educational materials explain the importance of year-round sun protection in the prevention of skin cancer. The public service materials answer frequently asked patient questions about the hazards of sun exposure and how to protect against it. A stand-up display for tables features photos taken with an ultraviolet light camera that illustrate the levels of protection provided by no sunscreen, a traditional sun protection factor (SPF) 15 sunscreen, and a sunscreen with SPF 15 and Parsol 1789 for broad protection against ultraviolet A and B rays. The poster contains charts to teach patients the impact of ultraviolet A and B light.
Copies of the patient education materials are available by writing to Galederma Laboratories, Department R, P.O. Box 331329, Fort Worth, TX 76163. Telephone: (800) 434-4893.
MD Consult outperforms other on-line resources
If you're looking for a good on-line clinical information resource, MD Consult is probably your best bet, according to a study in The Journal of Family Practice.
Researchers compared 16 on-line resources for their efficiency in retrieving medical information. Medical search engines, general-purpose search engines, medical meta-lists, and commercial sites were included in the 16 resources evaluated.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the suitability of the Internet as a clinical information source and to compare various information gateways with regard to their ability to answer questions. In the study, MD Consult correctly answered six of 10 clinical questions posed, the highest of any of the resources evaluated.
MD Consult at www.mdconsult.com provides access to full-text clinical content from 50 medical journals and professional associations, as well as clinical practice guidelines and patient education handouts. The site also offers 300 continuing education modules. It is not a free service, but a free 10-day pass is available to Web site visitors.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.