MCL Reference Dept.--Health resources

Morris County Library > Reference > Health & medicine

Health on the Web

Morris County Prescription Savings Program

Consumer information

Medline Plus (National Institutes of Health)...best place to begin learning about diseases & medical conditions
National Institutes of Health...excellent for locating detailed health information written for both consumers and medical providers.
Healthfinder links to health-related materials published by all federal agencies.
MerckSource...Merck Manual (Home edition), Virtual Body Tours, A.D.A.M. Encyclopedia
Lab Tests Online...consumer information and reference data.
Translations: basic health information in 9 languages (Chinese, French, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukranian)
Cancer.gov and Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Health Information from SeniorNet
Medical research
Health Source Plus...Consumer and professional medical journals (also includes alternative health). (Select EBSCO magazines)
PubMed...National Library of Medicine's index to journal articles
National Library of Medicine Gateway...search all of the NLM's databases together
Hardin Meta Directory of Internet Health Resources...(University of Iowa)

Ask the Hospital Librarian, free service from Atlantic Health Systems

Drugs

NJ Drug Price Registry
Medline Plus...USPDI dosing, interactions, side effects, precautions (also en Espanol)
Drug Information Portal/National Library of Medicine
DailyMed...FDA approved labels (medication package inserts)
PDR...dosing, interactions, precautions
RxList...detailed drug descriptions, interactions and drug-specific discussion groups.
Center for Drug Evaluation & Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration...approved drugs, consumer information, safety & interaction information.
Drug recalls and safety issues: MedWatch, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Rx4NJ, one-stop-shop for NJ prescription assistance programs
Drugs, Consumer Reports
WorstPills.org, Public Citizen (NOTE: MCL also owns the book and magazine/newsletter published by this organization)
Some drugs have their own Web sites:(coumadin.com; zocor.com).

Doctors

Contacts & credentials

New Jersey's doctors is provided by the State
Doctors accepting Medicare...search by location and specialty
Licensee Directories... confirm current licenses and note disciplinary history.
Physician Select database, American Medical Association
American Board of Medical Specialties...requires (free) registration
Physician Finder, Medical Society of New Jersey, search for doctors by name, specialty, supported insurance or hospital affiliation. You can also call the Morris County chapter of the Medical Association of New Jersey (973-539-8888).
Physician referral services are in the Yellow Pages of your local telephone book under the heading: Physicians and Surgeons Information Bureaus.
Ratings & rankings
New Jersey Monthly's November 2007 Top Docs issue lists Castle Connolly's local recommendations, based on peer nomination (not online)
Best Doctors in New York, New York Magazine, June 16, 2008
New Jersey's Top Dentists were last reported in New Jersey Monthly, July 2005 (not online).
Books @ MCL: Consumers' Guide to Top Doctors, Consumers' Checkbook and America's Top Doctors, Castle Connolly
Disciplinary actions
NJ Doctor List...search for physician, pull up record, select "legal actions."

Hospitals

Online directories & evaluations

NJ Licensed acute care facilities, searchable by specialty.
NJ hospitals that have been fined or cited for violations...includes summary information for each citation.
Find a hospital...MedlinePlus, by name, zip or city
HospitalConnect...find hospitals near you
Hospital directories and "report cards" for other states may be accessed from that state's Web site. Standard URL format: http://www.state.nj.us (2 digit postal code for each state)
Ratings & rankings
Hospital Compare, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services...ranks participating hospitals on treatments for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia.
America's Best Hospitals ,U.S. News & World Report...top facilities for 17 specialties.
Books@MCL: Consumers' Guide to Hospitals, Consumers' Checkbook.

Two of our local hospitals, Morristown Memorial Hospital and the St. Clare's Health Services offer extensive information regarding their services and community outreach programs on their Web sites.Morristown Memorial's Lathrope Library contains the largest collection of medical books, journals and databases in our area. This library is open to the public Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30.

Clinical Trials

All topics

ClinicalTrials.gov, National Institutes of Health
Clinical Trials Listing Service, CenterWatch
Clinical Study Results, searchable by company, disease or drug
Cancer trials
New Jersey Cancer Trial Connect, Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Cancer Trials, National Cancer Institute

Nutrition and food

Nutrient Database , U.S. Department of Agriculture...information on 6,00 fresh and manufactured foods
Fast Food Facts...analysis of fast food menu items
Nutrition Analysis Tool,University of Illinois...identify foods rich in specific nutrients
food safety and product recalls, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Travel health

Centers for Disease Control...provides everthing you need for international travel.

Consumer report cards
New Jersey's Department of Health publish a number of consumer report cards which rate and rank facilities by several criteria:

Cardiac surgery
Results of a study comparing mortality rates for the hospitals and physicians performing bypass surgery

Nursing Home Report Card
Inspections, called surveys, conducted to evaluate the fitness and adequacy of the nursing home, its equipment, staff, policies, procedures and finances.