In the February 6th NY Times Sunday Magazine, Virginia Heffernan wrote about the hazards on online medical advice sites, comparing WebMD and May Clinic Health Information.  This week’s Magazine section published a letter from Hahnemann Libraries’ Linda Katz, recommending the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus as a highly-trusted site for consumer health information, free from advertising or product endorsements.

Pauline W. Chen, M.D. writes in the 1/8/2009 issue of the New York Times on web sites valued by physicians for comparing hospitals, for identifying specialists, and for gathering information on medical conditions.  The article highlights DHHS’s “Hospital Compare” website which allows the user to select three hospitals (by name, proximity to their home or other criteria, and view data on treatment benchmarks, patient satisfaction and other indicators that may help in choosing where to seek treatment.

Other web sites mentioned include the Medical Library Association, for their guide to finding consumer health information, as well as the National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINE Plus.