There are a lot of places to find health information on the Internet. But it’s important not to trust every source. For example, one study found that nine out of 10 health pages on Wikipedia don’t agree with the latest medical research. That’s a 90 percent chance for getting inaccurate information.
Keep calm and trust the experts. Here’s a quick list of the best online health care sites:
1. MedlinePlus.gov links to the world’s largest medical library. If you need to learn about any drug, disease or definition of a health-related word, this is the place to go. Experts from all of the U.S. health departments choose what’s included and what’s not. This means no one person or company can make changes. It also means better, safer info.
2. There’s more to good health than just knowing the facts. What you do plays the biggest role. HealthFinder.gov was built to help people use health information. Try the page’s “myhealthfinder” link to find what check-ups you, your child or another family member might need this year. The site won a ClearMark Award for Plain Language in 2013. That means you don’t have to worry about hard-to-understand medical language or errors in the info.
3. AHealthyUnderstanding.org was built with the help of more than 50 local groups, including people from Allegheny County Health Department, Highmark and UPMC. The site was built to help providers and consumers talk to each other. It offers tools for before, during and after medical visits. It also helps people prepare for emergency care. You can print tools from the site and use them to track and own your health info.
Everyone knows that technology plays a big role in health care. But the secret is—so do you! Use these sites to get tips, tools and the truth about health.
