The immense amount of information available on the Internet can cloud the line between fact and fiction. This situation is concerning when individuals search for learning about their symptoms. Poorly communicated or incorrect information could cause a patient to ignore serious symptoms and worsen their condition.
Many medical websites for patients offer misleading or questionable medical information. Despite this, one must ensure that the source is high-quality. We have collected a list of ten sites where patients can find accurate health information. This allows patients to better control their health and more effectively use the Internet to search for symptoms.
Find Information On These Medical Websites For Patients
1. National Institutes of Health
Visit the National Institutes Of Health (NIH)
Based in the United States, the NIH is the largest funding source for medical research globally. It also runs one of the world’s highest-quality health care sites to complement its activities.
Various estimates suggest the site gets over 20 million unique visitors monthly. Over 40 percent of that traffic comes from the US. This site ranks number 161 in the US and number 354 globally. The data also shows that visitors to the site stay an average of four minutes.
The site has information on almost all known diseases and health problems, including high blood pressure. It details how to access grants, long-term funding, and training programs. The site is easy to navigate, sorting its data into categories such as age and gender.
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The site’s design is clutter-free, without unnecessary pop-ups, and the load times are quite fast. The team performs a significant amount of work to maintain this high-quality site. You will be hard-pressed to find a site online with more up-to-date healthcare data than this one.
The site designers use authoritative references to support the data’s accuracy. Scientific journals are an excellent resource for supporting the information you provide.
2. WebMD
This medical site offers a full range of treatment options for almost all known medical conditions. Its treatment options are in simplified technical language, ensuring they’re accessible to laymen and professionals alike.
Another element that supports their authority is the independent production and review of content on their site. A team of medical experts provides this oversight and guarantees accuracy. Scientific studies, practical applications, and medical evidence back the available information.
The medical site is an excellent resource for factual information. Once your doctor explains something, you can visit the site to get the details in non-technical language. WebMD also provides a starting place for patients trying to identify their symptoms. Complex topics provide hyperlinks to resources containing more details to aid in understanding.
The site also often reports on recent health news but in an objective manner. It references studies and seeks different opinions on any new medical care. It also offers a practical approach to medical treatment. It suggests questions you may ask your doctor about common medical issues such as diabetes, heart attack, and cholesterol.
3. Drugs.com
The site proudly proclaims that it is the most comprehensive source of up-to-date drug facts. It presents facts and data on 24,000 prescription drugs. Medical experts and consumers use the site, which receives over six million unique visitors monthly.
The provided data aids patients in understanding their medication, side effects, and interactions with other medications. The site has a unique tool called “Pill Identifier” that helps users find legal drugs based on their names or appearance in the US. Four leading suppliers of medical data power the site’s database, including the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
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On the site, you will also find Harvard Health Publications. The 9,000 faculty physicians at Harvard Medical School generate information for these publications. Thus, you can expect all the data you find here to be trustworthy and authoritative.
A medical dictionary powered by Stedmans is also available. The dictionary has been a trusted source of facts in the medical world since 1911.
4. Mayo Clinic
The team frequently updates the website’s data, essential for maintaining authority. It contains all the latest treatment options for patients. Additionally, each article includes a list of reliable references.
Users are confident the information is accurate and up to date.
This information remains accurate no matter where you are in the world. The site is best for those who wish to learn more about treatment options ranging from medical to lifestyle treatments. It often details medical conditions and the treatment options used. Sometimes, videos and animations help explain tough concepts such as LASIK eye surgery.
The team integrated valuable tools into the website design. A symptom checker allows patients to check on key symptoms and secondary symptoms. The checker then provides links to medical conditions that match the listed symptoms.
5. KidsHealth
This site bills itself as the go-to site for children’s health issues on the Internet. It has four sections: advice for parents, homework help for children, teaching aids for educators, and advice for teenagers.
Nemours, a nonprofit health system for kids, operates the site, which Neil Izenberg, MD, created in 1995. The site aims to assist teens, parents, and kids in taking control of their health. To achieve this, it offers families the tools to make the best medical choices.
This family medicine site provides expert-reviewed advice on emotional, physical, and behavioral topics from birth to their teenage years. The separate sections for the teens, kids, and parents have unique questions and answers.
Writers create articles, videos, slideshows, and other tools in simple language to ensure the information remains clear. Free programs and lesson plans provide resources for each childhood educator and teacher. The website designers made the design simple and easy to navigate.
6. CDC
CDC.gov is a site run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a public site, linking to it is free and does not require special permission. The site provides access to important safety and health topics. The index includes over 900 medical-related topics, clinical trials, statistics and data, scientific articles, various resources, and tools.
The site distributes reliable health facts to the masses to help improve people’s health. It utilizes research to improve people’s daily lives and often shares new medical information on health emergencies.
The site works with other partners and states to offer an unmatched health surveillance system. Visit this site first when you hear about outbreaks reported in your area. They will usually update information and facts on what people need to do.
You will find various detailed strategies for disease prevention and control. It also guards against the transmission of diseases outside the US. Check out the CDC site when traveling to a foreign region.
You will identify the types of shots you must take and steps to avoid infectious diseases common to the region.
The site is a treasure trove on symptoms of various diseases. If one believes they have contracted a certain illness, they will find the symptoms listed on the site. Besides that, they will get advice on how to ensure it does not spread any further. You will also get detailed directions for dealing with it, such as possible quarantine.
The site also contains details on injury prevention. CDC experts study common injuries and how best to avoid them. They conduct tests and fund programs to understand injuries better.
Additionally, it provides details on immunization and vaccines for kids, adults, pregnant women, and health professionals. The site details vaccines for specific groups, such as heart disease patients and teens.
7. American Cancer Society
Visit the American Cancer Society
Cancer.org is a site run by the American Cancer Society (ACS). The ACS’s mission is to save lives and lead the fight for a world free of cancer. As it has become well known, when cancer strikes, it often strikes from all sides. The team created this site to lead the fight against cancer from all sides in the U.S. and globally.
The site presents facts for healthcare experts to assist them in fighting cancer better. It also provides support to cancer patients. For instance, you will find details on the side effects of treatment and the various treatment options.
The site provides details regarding cancer diagnosis. You will also find details on the diagnosis process and what your diagnosis means. The doctors provide details on the diagnosis, the site can be useful in reviewing the information you got. The site also offers suggestions for discussing the diagnosis with the medical team and your loved ones.
The site also touches extensively on the practical aspects of getting cancer treatment, such as for skin cancer. Visitors will find details on how to deal with insurance and financing issues for treatment. You can access a list of questions to ask and use an interactive tool that demonstrates how your cancer might receive treatment.
The site connects patients and their loved ones with caregivers, volunteers, community leaders, and healthcare experts. The site also helps users accept low-cost resources where free support resources are unavailable. In general, this is one of the most comprehensive sites on the Internet, covering all aspects of cancer.
8. Healthline
Healthline.com is a site run by Healthline Media. As one of the top health information websites, it has recorded significant growth recently. The site can reach tens of millions of people globally each month.
Although it is still relatively young, it receives traffic similar to WebMD. The site’s founders drive its growth by focusing on consumer needs rather than commercial ones. This approach has been beneficial to its growth.
The site empowers users with empathetic content presented so ordinary users can understand it. Whether researching a medical condition or looking for the latest news on an illness, one can find it here. The site also has communities where users can ask questions to those in the community.
Another noteworthy aspect of the site is that it is mobile-friendly. In fact, a majority of its visitors use the site on mobile devices. The site does make it clear that it has advertising partnerships with other sites, such as Drugs.com. However, it does not let that interfere with the quality of information it delivers to customers.
9. RxList
RxList is a medical website offering details and information about generic and brand drugs. Pharmacists founded it in 1995 as part of the WebMD Network as the ultimate Drug index resource online. The site updates often, providing detailed information in an easy-to-understand manner.
Doctors and pharmacists write all the information offered on this site. Their team reviews and updates information often to ensure it is always accurate. They use reliable sources such as the First Databank, Cerner Multum, and the FDA. The goal is to provide beneficial and accurate data on medicine used to treat disease.
See examples of pharmacy websites
The site uses an easy-to-navigate design. The drug list uses an A-Z index, including their brand and generic names. Entering the drug name in the search box and clicking search is also an option. The pill identifier helps you identify a specific pill by shape, size, and color.
10. American Medical Association
Visit the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association, founded in 1847, is the US’s largest association of DOs, medical doctors, and medical students. Its mission is to promote medicine, science, and the betterment of public health. The American Medical Association is also behind the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The medical website provides both medical advocacy and advice to visitors. For instance, the association has been open against harsh verbal discipline or punishment. The AMA site covers other issues affecting the US. These include the marketing of opioids during the current opioid epidemic.
The site provides information on policy and practice management. In short, it aims to help physicians work better and stay abreast of industry developments. The AMA site provides a detailed guide on processing claims, including Medicare and Medicaid. It presents educational information on how physicians can grow their careers through education and much more.
Physicians and those attending a school of medicine find the site easy to navigate. This helps them find facts and information that influence their economics and careers. The site is quite responsive and does not have any clutter.
Summary
The 10 websites above are great for doctors and other medical professionals to find facts. They can also be great to their patients, who feel they need a more simplified understanding of their medical condition.
