Treatment and Medical Care

Suggestions for Use: These resources may help you evaluate some of the risks and benefits of enrolling in research by helping you locate the standard treatment for a given illness or disorder, and the rationale upon which these recommendations are based. Standard treatment, sometimes called a Clinical Practice Guideline, can be compared to the proposed research intervention. This can be especially important if you're asked to stop currently prescribed medicines. Any information you gather should not be the sole basis upon which you decide to enroll or decline to enroll in any given study. Rather they should help you formulate questions — for example:
• Is it safe for me to stop my current medication?
• How long is it safe for me to this?
• Will my medicine still be effective for me if I stop taking it to enter this study?

These resources should also help steer you away from dubious studies of implausible, discredited, or otherwise aberrant interventions that may not merit human testing.

These web sites are offered to help you frame questions and communicate effectively with your primary care physician; he or she is in the best position to help decide whether or not to participate in research.

Health Information & Clinical Practice Guidelines
Nationally and Internationally Recognized Medical Organizations

American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statements
American Academy of Pediatrics, Clinical Practice Guidelines
American Medical Association – Patient Pages
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Practice Parameters
American Academy of Family Practitioners
Canadian Medical Association Infobase Clinical Practice Guidelines
Canadian Paediatric Society Position Statements Index
Canadian Paediatric Society Information web site for parents: Caring for Kids
Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care
National Institutes of Health Clinical Alerts

Nationally and Internationally Recognized Academic
Centers and Consortia For Evidence-Based Medicine

Bandolier Oxford University evidence-based thinking about health care (highly recommended)
Centre For Health Evidence (associated with the University of Alberta)
Centre For Health Evidence, Users Guides to Evidence-Based Practice (excellent material & learn how to read a medical paper)
Cochrane Informed Health Online (Cochrane Consumer Network, Cochrane Collaboration)
Evidence-Based Medical Practice Universite Laval
eMedicine.org
Virtual Hospital, Digital Library of Health Information (University of Iowa)

Reputable Consumer Protection Organizations

Quackwatch.org (aberrant, dubious, or fraudulent health practices)
Internet Health Pilot, Your gateway to reliable health information on the internet

US Government Health Information Resources

National Guideline Clearinghouse: The National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) is a comprehensive database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research [AHCPR]), in partnership with the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP).
Federal Trade Commission – Diet, Health, and Fitness
List of Excluded Individuals/Entities Search, HHS Office of Inspector General (search this database to find individuals and corporations excluded by HHS-OIG from receiving federal funds, usually following an accusation or conviction for misappropriation of Medicare or other federal funds)
Health Information Gateway, National Institutes of Health
healthfinder® (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – health information database of organizations and information
Centers For Medicare and Medicaid, Coverage Center (find out what covered, what's not, and more importantly, why)

Credible Information Providers and Regulatory Organizations

DocFinder – Administrators in Medicine (links to many state medical boards where you can find licensing & disciplinary actions)
DocFinderPlus [locate physicians' hospital privileges and insurance/HMO affiliations]
eMedicine.org
Anatomy of the Human Body, Henry Gray. Philadelphia: LEA & Febiger, 1918. New York: Bartelby.com, 2000. (bibliographic record: http://www.bartelby.com/br/107.html )
Healthgrades.com Free quality reports on US hospitals; reports on individual physicians for modest fee
The Merck Manual
The Merck Manual, Second Home Edition
JCAHO Quality Check, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (hospital & clinic licensure)
National Organization of Rare Diseases
Public Citizen's Health Research Group
Aetna's Clinical Policy Bulletins
Sense About Science, the UK charitable trust to encourage an evidence-based approach to scientific and technological developments

Medical Tests

Lab Tests Online, American Association of Clinical Chemistry (outstanding)
Lab Tests Online UK, American Association of Clinical Chemistry
Medical Tests – University of California, San Francisco (many pediatric tests; alphabetical index; easy to read)
Medical Tests and Procedures a tool to look up information from Harvard Medical School and Aetna InteliHealth Inc.
Medical Tests – Yale New Haven Health, Yale University

[2004-09-25]

Temporary Links
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CLIA Program (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)
URL: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/clia/default.asp?

Medical Testing Labs Sanctioned by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

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Last Updated: 2004-12-07