Online Outside Resources

Online links for health educators and clinicians

(If you would like to submit a resource, e-mail the information to jpollara@milner-fenwick.com.)

PDA’s

Because healthcare professionals need a huge amount of information at the point-of-care, the popularity of PDA’s (personal digital assistants) is rapidly rising and can have a significant impact on the delivery and cost of healthcare. For quicker and more informed decision making, nurses and doctors can have instant access to databases such as drug guides, medical texts, and even patient information. One website www.pdacortex.com offers a variety of resources, links, and product reviews. They also provide forums for users and a free newsletter.

For information and useful links on this topic, go to:
www.dartmouth.edu/~library/biomed/guides/research/pda-resources.html,
www.jmir.org, and
www.pdamd.com

FDA

The Food and Drug Administration offers a wealth of free resources for medical professionals and consumers at www.fda.gov. Consumer information on countless current topics can be found at www.fda.gov/consumer/. One example at www.fda.gov/buyonline/ offers quick tips for buying medicines online. There’s a special section on women’s health with fact sheets, medication booklets, and Spanish resources at www.fda.gov/womens/.

Open Directory Project

The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It offers a section on patient education brochures at www.dmoz.org/Health/Education/Patient_Education/Brochures/. These resources come from medical associations, federal government sites such as the CDC, and private sites including one that helps educators create their own custom brochures.