How to Find Reliable Health Information Online

There are thousands of websites that provide health information online.  A lot of these sites are just trying to sell health products to you and they may not provide correct information.  You can start to evaluate a website by looking at who sponsors it. If the web site is a ".gov" (government website) or a ".edu" (college or university web site), the information will be more reliable and unbiased than a ".com" (commercial web site). You can find out more information to help you evaluate health websites on the National Institute on Aging website: "Online Health Information: Can You Trust It?".
               
     Here are some excellent health websites:

• NIH Senior Health - good basic information on many health topics; very user-friendly; also includes videos on topics such as Macular Degeneration.
• MedlinePlus Senior's Health (from the U.S. National Library of Medicine) - good directory of Senior health resources.
• MedlinePlus - search by health topic or search drugs and supplements- brings together information from many sources – such as the Mayo Clinic, the CDC, and the American Medical Association.
• NIDCD - information about dealing with deafness.
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute- Managing Heart Disease

Looking for a health provider? Here is a list of directories:

• Healthfinder - find a dentist, a doctor, hospital, hospice care, etc.
• Florida Health Finder - find and compare hospitals, prescription drug prices, nursing homes, etc.

Want to compare Medicare providers? Medicare.gov has the following tools:

• Physician Compare
• Hospital Compare
• Nursing Home Compare
• Home Health Compare
• Dialysis Facility Compare