Best medical information, advice is just a click away

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

The World Wide Web offers an astounding array of information on every subject under the sun, but it also puts forward a great deal of misinformation. That can be dangerous when dealing with medical issues.

In an effort to help our readers separate the good from the bad, we asked eight trusted health and wellness professionals to give us a list of Web sites they consider reliable. This list eliminates duplication, though several sites were recommended by more than one pro. While this is by no means a complete list of recommended medical sites, it offers a solid start.

Dr. Jorge Camara
Ophthalmologist, St. Francis

Medical Center

• www.eMedicine.com: A veritable encyclopedia of medical problems, from anxiety and depression to heart care and SARS. You can look things up by problem or by medical specialty.
• www.aao.org: The official site of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, with eye care-related articles that can be understood by lay people but are reviewed closely by physicians.
• www.endocrinologist.com: Dr. David Fitzpatrick of Honolulu established this site through his Diabetes & Hormone Center of the Pacific. It covers subjects as wide ranging as menopause, osteoporosis, and weight control, in addition to diabetes and its related problems. In English and Spanish, with a mailbox for questions.
• Type "Medline" into a search engine such as Google to look up the latest. Like many physicians, Dr. Camara relies on Medline searches to find information from published medical journals. "This is all peer-reviewed material, offering the highest level of publication in medicine," he said.

Dave Chong
Master's degree in exercise science, instructor in anatomy and exercise at Kapi'olani Community College, fitness trainer, owner of Revelations Health Performance Enhancement

• www.nlm.nih.gov: National Library of Medicine site, the creator of MEDLINE. Features library services, research program reports, hot topics and news releases.
• www.medscape.com: Thorough explanations of alternative medicine practices. Also 25 medical specialty areas, newsmaker interviews, journal articles. Among current topics: trends in blood-pressure treatment, teens and acne, a physical impairment index.
• www.quackwatch.com: Discusses the latest health and nutrition fads and tells you if the claims about products and procedures are scientifically valid. Offers a place to read or report any harm received as a result of health scams.
• www.dietitician.com: Solid information regarding supplements, healthy habits, cancer, caffeine, fad diets; dietitian answers questions.

Note: Chong's own site, www.revelationshawaii.com, is practical, relevant, informative and up to date.

Dr. Dan Heslinga
Family practice medicine, Windward Family Clinic

• www.aboutmyhealth.com: A link to his clinic, where patients can ask questions and make appointments, and the public can find links to other sites he has listed.
• www.drgreene.com: Pediatric health information and advice concerning preventive care, ages and stages and common complaints.
• www.WebMd.com: Articles about medical conditions — you pick the health issue. Also an interactive weight loss clinic.
• www.costco.com: "My favorite of all. Want to shop for the best price on prescription medicines? Go to Costco.com."

Dr. Richard Kimura
Internal medicine specialist, Kuakini Medical Center

• www.healthfinder.gov: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consumer health site. "Search engine links to government Web pages and trusted (to government standards) public and private Web sites."
• www.americanheart.org: Site of the American Heart Association. "Get the real deal about heart disease, high cholesterol and hypertension."
• www.cancer.org: The American Cancer Society's site. "The truth, instead of hype, hysteria and personal convictions. When I received an e-mail chain letter claiming to be a fundraiser for the ACS, this site already had an auto-reply disclaimer/denial."
• www.diabetes.org: "Three words: American Diabetes Association. The ADA tells your doc how to take care of you. They probably have reasoned opinions on advice given to you by a 'friend of a friend.' "
• www.cdc.gov/travel/: Information and advisories on travel-related health issues from the Centers for Disease Control, updated regularly. "This is where your doctors go to get the advice they give to you."
• www.nih.gov: Home page of the National Institutes of Health, with links to the various institutes. "Lots of consumer information in government-issue plain language. Can take some navigating to find what you're looking for."
• www.mayohealth.org: Consumer site of the Mayo Clinic. "When my patients bring in health newsletters from 'experts' giving questionable advice, I tell them to get the Mayo Clinic newsletter instead, and trust the Mayo Clinic. Any 'Dr. I. MaDoc' can claim to be an expert in his own newsletter or Web site. Nobody else can claim to be the Mayo Clinic. If you see someone make a claim in the name of a respected authority, why not verify that claim for yourself at the authority's own Web site?"
• http://healthlibrary.stanford.edu: Stanford Medical School's consumer health site. "Good search function. Information based on evidence and research, not pseudo-science."
• www.nhlbi.nih.gov: National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Web site of the Women's Health Initiative, the largest ongoing clinical study about women's health issues.
• www.nccam.nih.gov: Site of the NIH's National Center for complementary and alternative medicine. "This is the place to look for evidence-based, objective and unbiased information about what your friends and non-mainstream health care providers are telling you, though there's not as much good information as you might like. Includes descriptions of government-sponsored clinical trials."
• www.canadameds.com or www.thecanadiandrugstore.com or www.canadarx.net: Web sites for Canadian mail-order pharmacies. "For patients without prescription drug coverage. Check prescription drug availability and prices free, without having to register. The same medicines as in American drug stores, but not all drugs are available. Your doc writes a prescription, you mail it to Canada, a Canadian doc reviews your short medical history form and the prescription and rewrites a Canadian prescription for you. Save a bundle, even with the processing fee and postage. These three companies have been on the Web for at least the last two years. Type 'Canadian mail order pharmacies' in Google and hit Search. There are many more now."

Dr. Bruce Mills
Dermatologist, Honolulu Medical Group

• www.aad.org: American Academy of Dermatology's official website, offering "balanced, updated, reliable information" regarding acne, skin cancer, aging skin and a host of other skin-related subjects.

Note: Mills did not recommend any other skin-related sites, as he said most of them are tainted with sales pitches.

Dr. Richard Ridao
Internal medicine, St. Francis West and Kaheka Professional Center

• www.Medscape.com: "My personal favorite, as it allows me access to Medline articles and has a good reference base of other publications."

Note: Ridao says, "I also send patients to look for various professional societies or support groups like the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association (and) the Arthritis Foundation."

Dr. Robert Schulz
Plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Straub Clinic & Hospital

• www.plasticsurgery.org: Official site of the American Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons. Offers descriptions of procedures, both cosmetic and reconstructive, as well as referrals to society members.
• www.ama.net: Official site of the American Medical Association.

Amy Tousman
Registered dietician, Straub Clinic & Hospital, and columnist for The Advertiser

• www.cyberdiet.com: "Information on general and special dietary needs. Allows visitors to create a custom nutrition profile and personal menu plans."
• www.chasefreedom.com: Provides reviews of diets, pro and con.
• www.goaskalice.columbia.edu: "Visitors can ask questions about health topics or read about topics others have asked about."
• www.consumerlab.com: "Tests various brands of supplements to see if they contain what their label claims."
• www.nutritionnewsfocus.com: "Provides a daily e-mail to subscribers regarding products and studies in the news with a brief analysis of their quality and credibility."

Nancy Wilder
Skin-care consultant and owner of Nancy Wilder Institute of Skin Care and Cosmetics

• www.surgery.org: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery site includes consumer-oriented information on various surgeries, and the latest information on Botox, chemical peels and microdermabrasion procedures.