The National Libraries of Medicine (NLM) has launched a new web service to help doctors and their patients make informed treatment decisions.
The new NLM Health Information Rx Pilot Project, is an online resource that doctors can use to direct patients to current, reliable, consumer-friendly information about a genetic condition, or overviews about illness, health and disease prevention. The website, www.medlineplus.gov, has been promoted to more than 12,000 members of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) from
"Part of a physician's job is to explain illnesses, diagnoses and treatments to their patients," says Donald A.B. Lindberg, MD, Director of the National Library of Medicine. "NLM's MedlinePlus.gov provides authoritative, user-friendly, and commercial-free information that doctors can use to supplement information provided in the office or clinic. We think it saves time and improves doctors' communications with patients, in addition to its obvious value in helping keep the public healthy."
Under this new pilot program, about one-third of AOA's member physicians will be urged to "prescribe" information from MedlinePlus using a special "prescription pad" given to patients during office visits.
MedlinePlus.gov has information on more than 700 diseases and conditions, and links to pre-formulated searches of the MEDLINE database, which enables anyone to find references to the latest professional articles on health topics. Under each topic, patients will find information on symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, current news stories, research studies, clinical trials, helpful graphics, and interactive tutorials.
Similar to other health information sites, such as HealthyOntario, which offers its content in French and English, Medline Plus accepts no advertising and most information in available in English and Spanish.