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Major Agency Web Sites
Statistics
- National Center for Health Statistics
Major site for federal health and vital statistics.
- Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics
Early release of data from National Center for Health Statistics' health and demographic surveys on such topics as hospitalizations, elderly nursing care, ambulatory medical treatment and growth charts. Many advance releases are followed by detailed reports in the Vital and Health Statistics Series.
- Data Warehouse
Tabulated and microdata on a variety of subjects including medical care, life expectancy, diseases, sexual activity, use of contraceptives, infant and child health and more. From the National Center for Health Statistics.
- Fastats
Alphabetical arrangement of health and medical data by keyword such as AIDS. From the National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control.
- HCUPnet
Analyze health statistics and information on hospital stays at the national, regional, and State level. From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- Health Data and Statistics
Offers links to a variety of frequently sought health data including such topics as AIDS, injuries, cancer and national vital statistics. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Health United States
The major annual compilation of data on health topics by the National Center for Health Statistics.
- Life Tables
Annual tables which present data on average life expectancy by age, race, and sex for U.S. and states. From the National Center for Health Statistics.
- State Health Profiles
Quick data profiles by state for births, deaths, birth and death rates,marriages and divorces, and links to state health departments.
- Virginia Health Statistics
Statistical reports and tables on births, deaths, life expectancy, and population projects. From the Virginia Department of Health.
- Vital and Health Statistics Series
An ongoing series of health reports on such topics as use of health care services, illness, injury, and disability, health personnel and facilities, and advance reports on natality, mortality, marriage and divorce. From the National Center for Health Statistics.
Bibliographies
- CDC Wonder
Access to reports, guidelines, and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Offers but does not require registration for use of site.
- Current Bibliographies in Medicine
Offers links to bibliographies of interest on various health topics since 1992. From the National Library of Medicine.
- LocatorPlus
The National Library of Medicine's web catalog of books, periodicals and audiovisual resources. Also covers other NLM catalogs and access tools.
- Reports of the Surgeon General
Offers full text of all official reports of the Surgeon General on various topics back to the first report on Smoking and Health in 1964.
Alternative Medicine
Consumer Health Information
- Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online: FDA Guide
Tips and advice on buying pharmaceuticals online from the Food and Drug Administration
- Consumer Health Information Publications
A collection of links to information on health topics and conditions issued by the various units of the National Institutes of Health.
- Daily Med
A database of information about prescription drugs including drug content, indications and usage, warnings, dosage and administration and more. From the National Library of Medicine.
- Federal Health Information Centers and Clearinghouses
Lists organizations alphabetically by topic terms with address, phone number, email, web address, and statement of purpose. Updated annually. From the National Health Information Center.
- Genetics Home Reference: Your Guide to Understanding Genetic Conditions
Information about genetic conditions and diseases and the genes responsible for those conditions. From the National Library of Medicine.
- Health.Gov
Gateway site featuring a collection of links to other federal agency sites with health information for the average citizen.
- Health Hotlines
A database of health-related organizations operating toll-free telephone services. From the National Library of Medicine.
- Healthfinder
A gateway to reliable consumer health information supplied by over two dozen federal agencies.
- Household Products Database
Information on the health effects of more than 2,000 ingredients found in more than 4,000 common household products. From the National Library of Medicine.
- Infectious Disease Information
All you need to know about infectious diseases including conditions, treatments, and programs, presented in an alphabetical arrangement, from the National Center for Infectious Diseases.
- Interactive Health Tutorials
Uses animated graphics to explain medical procedures and health conditions. From the National Library of Medicine.
- Medline Plus Health Information
A collection of consumer health information including medical encyclopedia and dictionary information. Offers information on hundreds of diseases, conditions, and wellness issues. From the National Library of Medicine.
- National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information
An information and planning resource for individuals considering the need for longterm care. Covers understanding of terms, planning steps, and cost considerations. From the Administration on Aging.
- U.S. Surgeon General's Family Health Initiative
Offers a computerized tool, called "My Family Health Portrait," which can be downloaded and used to identify and track important health disorders which have occurred in one's family.
Disease Prevention
- CDC National Prevention Information Network
- A national reference, referral and distribution service for information on HIV/AIDS, STDs, and TB. Offers press releases, statistical data, newsletters and other publications of use to professionals in disease prevention fields
- Chronic Disease Prevention
Describes the programs and offers publications related to the disease prevention programs of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also offers state data and programs.
- Office of Disease Prevention
Describes the research efforts of the disease prevention office within the National Institutes of Health.
- Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Projects and publications of the disease prevention office within the Health and Human Services Department.
Diseases
- Cancer Mortality Maps and Graphs
Covers geographic patterns and time trends of cancer death rates in the U.S. by means of interactive maps, graphs, text, tables and figures for the period 1950-1994 for more than 40 cancers. From the National Cancer Institute.
- Diseases and Conditions
An alphabetical arrangement of information about infectious and chronic diseases, conditions, and disorders. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report
Semi-annual data report on AIDS and HIV cases including characteristics of victims, mode of exposure, and status. Covers U.S., states, and metro areas
- Oncology Tools
Offers information about specific cancers, approved drugs for cancer treatment, and related information about clinical trials, dosage calculators, and regulatory issues related to cancer. From the Food and Drug Administration.
Drugs
- Drugs@FDA
Information about approved and tentatively approved prescription, over the counter, and discontinued drugs.Provides comprehensive overview of a drug product's approval history. From the Food and Drug Administration.
- Electronic Orange Book
Online version of Food and Drug Administration's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations. Covers prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and discontinued drugs.
- Green Book
The approved animal drug list with a database of all animal drug products approved for safety and effectiveness by the Food and Drug Administration.
- Human Drug Advisory Committees
Offers information about the Food and Drug Administration's process for approving new drugs including selected transcripts from Advisory Committee meetings.
- National Survey on Drug Use and Health
The primary source of information on the on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco by the civilian population of the U.S. aged 12 or older. Survey covers about 67,000 persons each year and reports findings in various publication formats. From the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- Postmarketing Study Commitments
Search for information on drug company research into the safety and efficacy of particular drugs after they are approved for sale. From the Food and Drug Administration..
Elderly and Health
- National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information
Information and resources to help families plan for future longterm care needs. Has sections on understanding LTC, planning for LTC, and paying for LTC. From the Administration on Aging of the Health and Human Services Department.
- Senior Health.Gov
Health information aimed at senior citizens. Focuses on health topics of concern to the elderly such as Alzheimers's Disease, Arthritis, etc. From the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine.
Environment and Health
- Environmental Health
A collection of information, policy statements, and research reports about health problems caused by environmental hazards. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Environmental Health Perspectives
A monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. Includes archive of past issues to 1972 and archive of monographic supplements. From the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
- National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
Ongoing assessment of the U.S. population's exposure to environmental chemicals using biomonitoring. Third report released in 2005 covered 148 chemicals. Also provides exposure data by age, gender, and race/ethnicity groups. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Public Health and the Environment
Quarterly newsletter of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Formerly entitled Hazardous Sustances and Public Health. Publication suspended indefinitely in 2004.
- TOXNET
Access to a collection of databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and related topics. From the National Library of Medicine.
Exercise/Physical Activity
Health Care Policy
Health Care System
- Hospital Compare: A Quality Tool for Adults, Including People With Medicare
Allows users to compare quality of hospital care according to selected treatment measures relating to heart failure, heart attacks, and pneumonia. Plans call for expanding the criteria to include surgical infection rates. Also provides checklist of questions for patients to ask physicians to evaluate hospital quality. From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- License Lookup
Online directory of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, therapists, veterinarians, and other health care providers showing current license number, date of expiration, and whether the provider has been the subject of a "proceeding" within the past 15 years. From the Virginia Department of Health Professions but the directory is national in scope.
- National Guideline Clearinghouse Clinical Practice Guidelines
Information about hundreds of clinical practice guidelines for health professionals by disease or condition, treatment or intervention method, or issuing organization. Sponsored by Health and Human Services Department and private medical organizations.
- National Health Information Infrastructure
Focus of the effort to use technology to establish an improved national health care system. Includes meetings, reports, and news related to the initiative. From the Health and Human Services Department.
- National Hospital Discharge and Ambulatory Surgery Data
Offers data on patient characteristics, medical problems, length of stay, and costs for patients treated at non-federal hospitals and patients receiving surgical or nonsurgical procedures on an outpatient basis.
- Nursing Home Compare
Comparative information about nursing homes across the country. Includes such information as number of residents, number of beds, type of ownership, number and qualifications of staff, and details of latest inspection report. From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Patient Safety Network: A National Patient Safety Resource
Describes itself as a "national portal of resources for improving patient safety and preventing medical errors." Features latest news and resources on patient safety and "Patient Safety Classics" articles. From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- Personal Medical Records
A compilation of information about medical records and privacy including overview, law and policy, and related issues. From the National Library of Medicine.
- Virginia Board of Medicine Practitioner Information
Information on more than 30,000 doctors of medicine, osteopathy and podiatry currently licensed in the state of Virginia. Covers malpractice payments, license suspensions or other reprimands from professional review organizations. Information is provided by the practitioners. From the Board of Medicine.
Health Insurance
- FAMIS: Family Access To Medical Insurance Security
Information about the state/federal plan to provide health insurance coverage to children of Virginia working families without insurance coverage. Includes online application forms.
- Health Insurance Data
Annual files on the percentage and characteristics of the population covered by health insurance. Also features special topics like Children and Health Insurance. From the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey.
- Insure Kids Now
Information about the federal/state program to insure kids whose families lack health insurance. Includes links to related state programs. From the Department of Health and Human Services.
International
- Global Health.gov: Sharing Solutions to Shared Problems
Serves as gateway to federal government health agency reports on global health issues as well as reports and statistics relating to foreign countries from international health organizations. From the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Global Affairs.
- Global Infectious Disease Threat and Its Implications for the United States
A National Intelligence Estimate Report on AIDS and other infectious diseases as a threat to the economy, health, and national security of the U.S. From the National Intelligence Council and the CIA.
- Health Information for International Travel: The Yellow Book
Biennial collection of information for those who advise international travelers' of health risks. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- International Health
A collection of news, features and resources on the topic of international health. From the National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus and the National Institutes of Health
- Office of Global Health
Describes U.S. government's strategies and priorities for improving world health. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Travelers' Health
A collection of information by country or region on vaccinations, travel health warnings, and more. Also includes tips for special travel situations such as traveling with kids or pets. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- World Health Organization Statistical Information System
Offers recent, comprehensive health statistics on all 193 member nations of the World Health Organization. Covers 50 core health indicators organized into 6 major areas. From the World Health Organization.
Medical Research
- Clinical Trials.Gov
Offers information on thousands of medical studies involving new drugs or diagnostic procedures. Can be searched by medical condition or browsed by condition and sponsor. From the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.
- CRISP: Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects
Searchable databases of federally funded biomedical research projects carried out at hospitals, universities, and research centers. Includes coverage of current and historical awards in separate databases. Entries include abstracts. Updated weekly and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
- Data 2010
An interactive database of health objectives set up by the National Center for Health Statistics as part of its Healthy People 2010 initiative. The database contains over 400 health objectives which can be sorted by focus areas, by keywords, or by specific population groups.
- Healthy People 2010
Information, data, and publications related to the health promotion objectives of the Health and Human Services Department.
- HRSA Geospatial Data Warehouse: Primary Care Service Areas
Downloadable data about primary health care resources, populations, and utilization compiled and presented in newly developed units of analysis (Primary Care Service Areas). From the Health Resources and Services Administration.
- National Institutes of Health Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry
Lists research institutions that have developed human embryonic stem cell lines meeting the current criteria for federal funding support.
- National Library of Medicine Gateway
Searching in multiple retrieval systems of the National Library of Medicine including Medline/PubMed, MedlinePlus, the NLM Catalog and others.
- Pub Med
Provides searching access to over 15 million citations from the National Library of Medicine's Medline and additional life science journals. Many citations include links to full text of articles. From the National Library of Medicine.
- Pub Med Central
An archive of free, full-text articles from leading biomedical and life science research journals. From the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.
- Public Health Image Library
A collection of still images, image sets, and multimedia files related to public health. Search engine allows for searching by topic such as anthrax. From the Centers for Disease Control.
- Visible Human Project
- The effort of the National Library of Medicine to create complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of the male and female body.
- Wisqars: Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System
In two major parts: The Injury Mortality Reports permit researchers to learn rates of deadly injuries by nation, region, or state(s) for population characteristics such as sex, race and hispanic origin and for manner/intent (such as suicide, homicide) for years from 1981 to date. Leading Causes of Death Reports provide similar geographic tracking of leading causes of death (top 5 to top 20 causes) by age groups. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Medicare/Medicaid
- CMS Data Compendium
Current data for Medicare/Medicaid including budget overview, expenditures, beneficiaries, services provided, service providers and suppliers, state data, and financing. From the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and its predecessor agency, the Health Care Financing Administration.
- Medicaid Benefits
Services covered, limits, copayments and reimbursement methods for the 50 states, DC, and the territories. From the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Conference of State Legislatures
- Medicare
The official government site for Medicare information, contacts, and publications. Links to a site which offers comparisons of accredited managed care plans by geographic areas. Sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Medicare and You
Current program information about medicare benefits, plan choices, and health plans in various geographic areas.
- Medicare Basics
Answers basic questions about the Medicare program and offers links to list of Medicare Basics Publications.
- Medicare Compare
Interactive database which allows user to select geographic area and compare features of available Medicare health plan options.
- Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage
Basic information about the prescription drug program and tools for selecting a prescription drug provider. From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Provider Manuals
Links to copies of the numerous manuals concerning policies and procedures for the Virginia Medicaid Program.. From the Department of Medical Assistance Services.
Mental Health
- Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
The first Surgeon General's report to cover the topic of mental health. Examines the biological and psychosocial influences behind mental health, the variety of mental disorders, and the treatments used. Calls for eliminating disparity between treatment of physical and mental disorders.
- National Institute of Mental Health
Offers basic information about mental health and mental disorders to the public and research developments and funding opportunities for professional researchers.
- National Mental Health Information Center
A collection of news and resources relating to mental health from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Includes related resources on homelessness, school violence, and suicide prevention. Also has a "Services Locator" which identifies services and statistics sources by state and some localities.
- President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
An initiative of the Bush Administration to study the U.S. mental health service delivery system and offer recommendations for improvement.
Minorities and Health
Nutrition
Periodicals
Smoking and Health
- Smokefree.Gov
Offers free materials to help smokers quit and supports national and state efforts to reduce smoking. From the National Cancer Institute.
- Surgeon General's Reports (on Smoking and Tobacco)
Offers a complete listing of SG smoking and health reports since 1964. Also offers full text of the landmark 1964 report on smoking plus other smoking reports from 1960s to date. See also Reports of the Surgeon General for coverage of reports on other topics as well as smoking from the Public Health Service.
- Smoking and Tobacco Use
Includes information on tobacco use, data and statistics, youth prevention efforts and legacy tobacco industry documents library.
Vital Records/Vital Statistics
- National Vital Statistics Reports
Monthly and annual data on births, deaths, marriages, and divorces in the U.S. Reports available online from January 1998, (Vol. 47 No. 1- _) From the National Center for Health Statistics.
- National Vital Statistics System
Links to official data on births, deaths (including infant and fetal deaths), marriages and divorces annually in the United States. Also contains information about the National Death Index. From the National Center for Health Statistics.
- Where to Write for Vital Records
An alphabetical directory to state offices of vital records (births, deaths, marriages, divorces) with information about ordering procedures and costs.
Women and Health
- Menopausal Hormone Therapy
A collection of information and resources on the risks and benefits of the controversial hormone treatments from the National Institutes of Health.
- National Women's Health Information Center
Topics on women's health arranged alphabetically with keyword search access. Also features women's health news and an online newsletter. Sponsored by the Office on Women's Health of the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Women's Health
Information on federal program areas, funding, publications and statistics. From the Health Resources and Services Administration.
- Women's Health USA Databook
Data and analysis on emerging issues and trends in women's health. Latest is 2004. From the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Youth and Health
- Monitoring the Future Survey
Surveys high school and college students on use/abuse of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and prescription/nonprescription drugs and also on attitudes toward drugs and drug laws. From the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
- Trends in the Well-Being of America's Children and Youth
Data on the condition of children and teenagers from various federal agencies. Covers health, educational achievement, social development, economic security, and family characteristics. Latest is 2003. From the Department of Health and Human Services.
- World Health Information Statistical Information System
Data on Core Health Indicators by country. Also health statistics by country, region, or topic. Offers a variety of formats. Data available for a limited number of years.
