(303) 716-0041
http://www.healthgrades.com
healthfinder®
(Key resource for finding the best government and nonprofit health and human services information on the Internet)
A service of the National Health Information Center, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
healthfinder® links to carefully selected information and web sites from over 1,500 health-related organizations
http://www.healthfinder.gov
Hospital Compare (provided by the Unites Sates Department of Health and Human Services)
This website was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA). Hospital Compare has quality measures on how often hospitals provide some of the recommended care to get the best results for most patients. You will see some of the recommended care that an adult should get if being treated for a heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia, or having surgery. This information helps you, your health care provider, family, and friends compare the quality of care provided in the hospitals that agree to submit data on the quality of certain services they provide for certain conditions. This quality information not only helps you make good decisions about your health care, but also encourages hospitals to improve the quality of health care they provide.
Quality information is not available on this website for children's, psychiatric, rehabilitation or long-term care hospitals because they generally do not treat adult patients for heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia or perform surgeries on adults.
(877) 696-6775
http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov>
Joint Commission On Accreditation Of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
Select "For Accredited Organizations
Go to Quality Check
Select "Search by Zip Code" or "Search by Name" and follow instructions
Note - the reports take a VERY long time to load (even with high-speed). Unless you want details, all you really need to know is if the hospital is accredited
(630) 792-5000
http://www.jointcommission.org
Medline Plus (a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health - your tax dollars at work)
I would have liked to give you a link to the online Physician's Desk Reference (PDR), but, without medical credentials, you have to pay for this service
Site contains great drug information
Not sponsored by any drug company so you don't get those pesky pop-ups or one-sided views.
Drawback - you have to know the generic name of the drug (e.g., I tried to look up Dilantin and found it under Phenytoin)
If this happens to you, just type in the drug name in their Search Medline Plus box at the top of each page
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html
Medscape Medical News (online medical news board written by and for the medical community)
Select Newsletters and determine which one(s) you are interested in receiving
When asked for you position in medicine, I selected "consumer/other"
You can do research on Medscape about specific medical conditions plus you receive updates as they occur in medicine and research
I don't understand everything I read here but I still find it to be a very valuable resource