The Internet can be a valuable tool for finding information on virtually any topic. When it comes to medical and health information though, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the vast array of information.. At times, it can be difficult to differentiate between a credible source and someone’s personal opinion without doing a bit of detective work.
CNN.com’s Empowered Patient series offers these tips on how to be more savvy when surfing the Internet for medical information.
1. Use search engines that screen out the garbage for you
There’s a lot of junk on the Internet. “It’s the wild, wild West out there,” says Alan Spielman, CEO of URAC, a company that certifies health Web sites. “You really have to be alert as you go through these sites.”
To get rid of the junk, use a search engine that looks only at reputable sites that have been vetted by health professionals. Dirline, run by the National Library of Medicine, is one such engine, as are medlineplus.gov and Imedix.com. Healthfinder.gov searches for information on government health Web sites.
2. Find smart bloggers with your disease
Some bloggers do an excellent job of linking to resources specific to your disease. That goes for advocacy groups, too.
3. Invest 30 minutes in the pubmed.gov tutorial
Pubmed.gov searches the medical literature, but it isn’t completely intuitive. It’s worth the time to learn how to use it by doing the tutorial.
Nervous you won’t understand the technical jargon in medical articles? Don’t be, says Guthrie. She advises reading the very beginning of a study and the very end. “The conclusion will tell you whether the treatment they studied was effective, moderately effective, or not at all effective.”
In addition, the Medical Library Association, has brochures called Deciphering Medspeak to help translate some of the more common medical jargon.
Tara Parker-Pope, a health columnist for the New York Times, found it useful to specifically search for review articles on pubmed when she was looking for treatments for her mother’s esophageal cancer. Review articles give an overview of the latest research on a particular subject. “Review articles are an excellent way to get a lay of the land and to get the big picture on a topic,” Parker-Pope says.
To find review articles on pubmed, go to the “limits” tab and then under “type of article”, check “review.”
4. Click on information about annual meetings
For example, let’s say you just got a breast cancer diagnosis. You could go to asco.org, the site for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and look at information on new breast cancer treatments discussed at last year’s meeting.
This is the way to get cutting-edge information, Guthrie says. “Information on new treatments is presented at conferences six to 12 months before it’s published in a medical journal.”
Guthrie says she managed to find out about a new treatment for tendonitis this way. “It wasn’t even in the medical journals yet. We found one doctor in New York who was doing it. If I had tendonitis, it might’ve been worth traveling to him,” she says.
5. When in doubt about a Web site, click on “about us”
Sometimes it’s clear who runs a Web site. Often it’s not. Clicking on “about us” should explain it. Knowing who’s behind the information you’re reading (especially if they’re trying to sell you something) helps you evaluate whether the information is biased. If you can’t figure out who runs the site, don’t use it.
Keep in mind that most medical information websites will be written with a broad audience in mind and therefore, should not be used to diagnose yourself or another person.
Wesleyan Health Resources:
WesWELL, Office of Health Education
Health Services
Office of Behavioral Health for Students
