PubMed Health Provides Disease and Treatment Information for Consumers
PubMed Health Provides Disease and Treatment Information for Consumers
From the PubMed Health About Page
PubMed Health is a consumer health Web site produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). PubMed Health provides up-to-date information on diseases, conditions, injuries, drugs, supplements, treatment options, and healthy living, with a special focus on comparative effectiveness research from institutions around the world.
PubMed Health includes:
- consumer guides summarizing comparative effectiveness research
- fact sheets on diseases and conditions
- information on drugs and supplements
- encyclopedic overviews of health topics
- links to external Web sites
PubMed Health has a special focus on comparative effectiveness research, in particular that research which evaluates the available evidence of the benefits and harms of different treatment options for different groups of people. In Comparative Effectiveness Research, experts often synthesize the evidence from dozens, or even hundreds, of individual studies.
- by keyword, as teeth, heart disease, Flomax, and CAT scan
When one enters a keyword, a list of topics suggested topics will appear underneath the word being typed.
For example, when typing CAT, phrases as Age Related Cataract, CAT scan, CAT scan arm, and cat scratch fever will appear
Any of the suggested phrases can be clicked on for further searching
After a keyword is selected, there may be a few results or over 100 to choose.
Narrow the results by refining the search through the topics at the top of the page.
- by the Topics (A-Z) section
This listing includes redirections to the topic headings used by PubMed Health.
For example, if one clicks on Y, the entries will include
Yellow skin and eyes (see Jaundice – yellow skin)
Yellow jacket sting (see Insect bites and stings) - by Subject
PubMed Health does not replace MedlinePlus.(Click here for a related news item for the medical librarian community)
However, at this time there is some overlap with MedlinePlus. The disease, first aid, healthy living, tests/treatments,and drug topics are identical, drawing from the same resources. However the comparative effectivenes is unique to PubMed Health. MedlinePlus has additional resources including: health news, directories (finding doctors, hospitals,etc), and organizations publishing health information. MedlinePlus has more ways to search incuding videos, easy-to-read, and multiple languages.
Related Articles
- MedlinePlus: Patient Handouts (aa47.wordpress.com)
- PubMed Toxicology Subset Streamlines Biomedical Searches in the Professional Literature (jflahiff.wordpress.com)
- The differences between comparative and clinical effectiveness (kevinmd.com)
- Comparative effectiveness research (CER) needs honest discussion (kevinmd.com)
- Thomson Reuters launches The Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (medicineandtechnology.com)
- What Is Comparative Effectiveness Research? (jflahiff.wordpress.com)
What Is Comparative Effectiveness Research?
What Is Comparative Effectiveness Research?
From the US AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) Web page
Comparative effectiveness research is designed to inform health-care decisions by providing evidence on the effectiveness, benefits, and harms of different treatment options. The evidence is generated from research studies that compare drugs, medical devices, tests, surgeries, or ways to deliver health care.
There are two ways that this evidence is found:
- Researchers look at all of the available evidence about the benefits and harms of each choice for different groups of people from existing clinical trials, clinical studies, and other research. These are called research reviews, because they are systematic reviews of existing evidence.
- Researchers conduct studies that generate new evidence of effectiveness or comparative effectiveness of a test, treatment, procedure, or health-care service.
Comparative effectiveness research requires the development, expansion, and use of a variety of data sources and methods to conduct timely and relevant research and disseminate the results in a form that is quickly usable by clinicians, patients, policymakers, and health plans and other payers. Seven steps are involved in conducting this research and in ensuring continued development of the research infrastructure to sustain and advance these efforts:
- Identify new and emerging clinical interventions.
- Review and synthesize current medical research.
- Identify gaps between existing medical research and the needs of clinical practice.
- Promote and generate new scientific evidence and analytic tools.
- Train and develop clinical researchers.
- Translate and disseminate research findings to diverse stakeholders.
- Reach out to stakeholders via a citizens forum.
Common questions about comparative effectiveness research
Q: Why is comparative effectiveness research needed? What problem is it trying to solve?
- If you don’t get the best possible information about your treatment choices, you might not make an informed decision on what treatment is best for you.
- When you shop for a new car, phone or camera, you have lots of information about your choices. But when it comes to choosing the right medicine or the best health-care treatment, clear and dependable information can be very hard to find.
- It’s true that some treatments may not work for everyone, and that some treatments may work better for some people than others. This research can help identify the treatments that may work best for you.
Q: What are the practical benefits of comparative effectiveness research?
- You deserve the best and most objective information about treating your sickness or condition. With this research in hand, you and your doctor can work together to make the best possible treatment choices.
- For example, someone with high blood pressure might have more than a dozen medicines to choose from. Someone with heart disease might need to choose between having heart surgery or taking medicine to open a clogged artery. Reports on these topics and others include the pros and cons of all the options so that you and your doctor can make the best possible treatment decision for you or someone in your family.
- Every patient is different — different circumstances, different medical history, different values. These reports don’t tell you and your doctor which treatment to choose. Instead, they offer an important tool to help you and your doctor understand the facts about different treatments.
- …and AHRQ Effective Health Care Program Links
- Guides for Patients and Consumers include research reviews, research reports, and summary guides
- Glossary of Terms
- Personalization and Social Media Tools – These tools (as an email list)allow you to personalize your experience with the EHC Program Web site and share it with colleagues, family, and friends.
Related Articles
- Many new drugs did not have comparative effectiveness information available at time of FDA approval (eurekalert.org)
- The differences between comparative and clinical effectiveness (kevinmd.com)
- The Role of Data Mining in Cost Effectiveness Research (medicineandtechnology.com)
- The Newspeak of comparative effectiveness research (CER) (doctorrw.blogspot.com)
- CDISC Standards at Core of FDA Cross-study Clinical Trial Repository Project (prweb.com)
- National Library of Medicine Updates (aa47.wordpress.com)
- Shall I compare thee to another drug? (blogs.nature.com)
Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER)
Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER)
http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/webdatabases/Intro.aspx?ID=2
Focused coverage of systematic and non-systematic reviews of effectiveness
in health promotion and public health worldwide. This register currently
contains details of over 2,500 reviews of health promotion and public
health effectiveness.
There are many ways to search the reports through the Searchtab.
One may browse reports by clicking on the Reporttab, then Explore, and finally Generic Keywords ( focus of the report option)
Related articles
- Will Government health cuts mean higher costs in the future? (blogs.abc.net.au)
- Public health promotion activities in slums (assamtribune.com)
- DoH: Health intelligence requirements for local authorities set out (protohub.net)
About
This blog presents a sampling of health and medical news and resources for all. Selected articles and resources will hopefully be of general interest but will also encourage further reading through posted references and other links. Currently I am focusing on public health, basic and applied research and very broadly on disease and healthy lifestyle topics.
Several times a month I will post items on international and global health issues. My Peace Corps Liberia experience (1980-81) has formed me as a global citizen in many ways and has challenged me to think of health and other topics in a more holistic manner.
Do you have an informational question in the health/medical area?
Email me at jmflahiff@yahoo.com
I will reply within 48 hours.
This blog is a companion site to my Health and Medical News and Resources Web site with…
- Great places to start (locating health information)
- Links to help from others (as health care providers and support groups)
- Interactive tools (as health calculators and apps)
- Select related news sites and blogs
My professional work experience and education includes over 15 years experience as a medical librarian and a Master’s in Library Science. In my most recent position I enjoyed contributing to our library’s blog, performing in depth literature searches, and collaborating with faculty, staff, students, and the general public.
While I will never be be able to keep up with the universe of current health/medical news, I subscribe to the following to glean entries for this blog.
- Science Daily – Your source for the latest research news
- MedlinePlus email updates from the US National Institutes of Health
- Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce – a collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations and health sciences libraries
- US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) news now with updates on the agency’s efforts to “improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans”
- Research Buzz, “news about search engines, digital archives, online museums, databases, and other Internet information collections since 1998”
- Scout Report, a “weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators”
- KevinMD.com -“Social Media’s leading physician voice”
- EurekAlert-Medicine and Health
Health and Medical News and Resources 