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Health / Medicine

Everybody Reads!

This year everybody is reading the thrilling history of how London's worst cholera epidemic changed the way we think about public health.

In the news - Swine Flu
Local resources
Aging
Diseases
Drugs and supplements
Environmental health
Find a doctor
Health resources in other languages
Mental health
Pet health

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There are numerous resources on the Internet for finding reliable and authoritative health information. The purpose of our health page is to point you toward local health resources and to also direct you to some of well-known and trustworthy health web sites. This list is not meant to be comprehensive.

These informational resources are not a substitute for professional health care.

In the News

H1N1 (Swine Flu)

Swine Flu Info

Members of the public can find recorded information on the H1N1 flu in Multnomah County by calling 503-988-4454. In addition, live information specialists are available to take questions 24 hours a day at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Call 1-800-232-4636. On TTY, the number is 1-888-232-6348. Call-takers speak English and Spanish.

Swine Flu (Multnomah County): http://www.mchealth.org/swineflu.shtml

The lastest local information from the Multnomah County Health Department.
Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention (Oregon.gov): http://www.flu.oregon.gov/

From Oregon.gov, the latest news and information. This page includes general information about swine flu, prevention techniques, Frequently Asked Questions, and a fact sheet in both English and Spanish, from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Centers for Disease Control H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

A good resource to find the latest news and research. You can tracks cases by state, read the latest press releases, find information targeted to a specific population group and find H1N1 travel advisories. Information is available in both English and Spanish.
World Health Organization Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response: http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/

Read the most recent reports from around the globe.

Aging

Aging and Disability Services Multnomah County: http://multnomah.or.networkofcare.org/aging/home/index.cfm

A new, award-winning site providing a wealth of information for seniors and people with disabilities. Find prescription assistance including Canadian mail order pharmacies, a database of assistive devices with prices and availability, and a library of information resources. There is also a searchable database of local service providers that you can search by zip code as well as by category.
Administration on Aging: http://www.aoa.gov/

You can search for local agencies , check for benefits you might have missed, find statistics on aging and research long term care options. The site is available in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.
Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance Program -- Advance Directives: http://egov.oregon.gov/DCBS/SHIBA/advanced_directives.shtml

An advance directive is a set of instructions that explain the specific health care measures a person wants if he or she should have a terminal illness or injury and become incapable of indicating whether to continue curative and life-sustaining treatment, or to remove life support systems. A copy of the most current form is available from this site, with information and a link to the Health Care Decisions Act,( ORS 127.505 - 127.660 and ORS 127.995).

Information about diseases, symptoms and treatments

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/

Search by a specific disease or find it by category. You can also find up to the minute news, a wide variety of health statistics and health advice for travelers including H1N1 travel advisory. The Morbitity and Mortality Weekly Report is found here. Use CDC Wonder to find a wide variety of reports and public health statistics. The site is available in both English and Spanish.
ClinicalTrials.gov: http://clinicaltrials.gov/

Provides regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research in human volunteers. ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details. The information provided on ClinicalTrials.gov should be used in conjunction with advice from health care professionals.
Diseases Database: http://www.diseasesdatabase.com/index.asp

An index of human diseases cross-referenced with medications, symptoms, signs, and findings. The index searches 19 resources simultaneously, including PubMed, MedlinePlus, MedHunt, PubChem, Karolinska Institute and others. Suitable for both lay persons and health professionals. Search by disease name or select a disease by alphabetical letter.
Lab Tests Online: http://www.labtestsonline.org/

Explains clearly and concisely the purpose of many blood tests and other laboratory tests. Searchable by specific test, by age category, and by condition or disease.
Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayohealth.org/

A highly reliable resource that includes current medical research news, information about diseases and conditions, a symptom index, a first aid guide and prescription drug information. Information about each disease includes signs and symptoms, causes, risk factors, when to seek medical advice, screening and diagnosis, complications, treatment, prevention and self-care. A handy flu symptoms self assessment helps you determine if you have the flu or a cold.
MEDLINEplus: http://www.medlineplus.gov

One of the best places to start your search for medical information. You can search by a specific disease name, or find information under health topics by body location or body system. The site also includes much more health related information including a medical dictionary, information about drugs and supplements, and Go Local, a new service to help you locate health professionals in a sepcific geographic area. The site is available in both English and Spanish.
PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed

PubMed is a database of citations to articles from major clinical, medical and life science journals. PubMed includes some links to full text articles and other related resources when available. A tutorial is provided for searching the database.

Drugs and supplements

Cancer Information: About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products: http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm

Sponsored by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, this site provides objective, evidence based information for oncologists and healthcare professionals about agents used in the treatment of cancer. There is a clinical summary of each agent that includes details about constituents, adverse effects, interactions, and potential benefits or problems. The use of these agents as treatments for other diseases is briefly mentioned.
Daily Med: http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/about.cfm

DailyMed provides high quality information about marketed drugs. The information includes content and labeling as found on medication package inserts (FDA approved labels). The National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides this as a public service.
Drugs, Supplements and Herbal Information: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

MEDLINEplus provides information about drugs, herbals and dietary supplements in both English and Spanish.
NeedyMeds: http://www.needymeds.com/

NeedyMeds is a non-profit organization that helps people who cannot afford medicine or healthcare. You can find drug coupons and other services at reduced costs anonymously and free of charge.
Office of Dietary Supplements: http://ods.od.nih.gov/

Fact sheets provide comprehensive information about supplements including historic uses, side effects, interactions with other drugs and clinical studies.
Partnership for Prescription Assistance: http://www.pparx.org/

Patients can use an online wizard to determine for which prescription assistance programs they are eligible. You can search for information by state or find a free or low-cost health clinic in your area. Information is available in both English and Spanish, about Medicaid, Medicare, Patient Assistant Programs, co-pay programs and free or low cost health clinics.
Pharmacy Checker.com: http://www.pharmacychecker.com/

Collects, rates and compares credentials, prices, and customer feedback regarding pharmacies that operate online and through mail-order and fax. Includes Canadian businesses too.
Rxlist: http://www.rxlist.com/

If you are looking for information about a drug, this is a good resource. For each drug, information is provided about indication and dosage, pharmacology, interactions and side effects, chemical composition and structural formula. There is also a handy pill indentifier.

Find a doctor

American Association of Naturopathic Physicians: http://www.naturopathic.org/

Select "find an ND" to locate a naturopathic doctor in your area.
American Board of Medical Specialties: http://www.abms.org/login.asp

Medical certification in the United States is voluntary and involves a rigorous process of testing and peer evaluation. Use this resource to determine if a physician is board certified and in which field. You must register to use this site, but registration is free.
Docfinder: http://www.docboard.org/docfinder.html

Search the databases of licensed physicians from the medical boards of participating states. Information includes licensing information, status, graduation date and school, and board disciplinary actions, if any.
Find a Dentist: http://www.ada.org/public/directory/index.asp

The American Dental Association directory lists dentists by name, location or specialty.
Oregon Board of Medical Examiners: http://www.bme.state.or.us/search.html

Provides information on physicians, acupuncturists, and physician assistants practicing in Oregon.
Oregon Health Go Local: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocal/index.html

Find a health care professional, institution or organization by geographic area.

Environmental health

Haz-Map: Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Materials: http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/

Search by agent, disease or job and browse by types of agents, by adverse effects and by types of jobs and diseases. Also includes a section on high risk jobs and the hazards of each type of job.
Household Products Database: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/about.html

This database links over 6,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients. Arranged by category of products and also searchable by keyword or product name.
HazCom, MSDS's & GHS: http://www.ohsu.edu/croetweb/links.cfm?subtopicID=149

A material safety data sheet (MSDS) is a form containing data regarding the properties of a particular substance. Information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill handling procedures are included on the sheets. This resources provides a collection of searchable indexes to MSDS and other information about hazardous substances.
Scorecard: The Pollution Information Site - Health Effects: http://www.scorecard.org/health-effects/

Using information from scientific sources and regulatory agencies, Scorecard provides listings of the chemicals that can cause cancer, harm the immune system, contribute to birth defects, or lead to any of nine other types of health impacts. Lists are available for 12 different adverse health effects.
Tox Town: http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/

An introduction to toxic chemicals and environmental health risks you might encounter in everyday life, in everyday places. The site is arranged like a town with linked graphics representing areas that contain many toxic substances.

Local resources

211info: information and referral: http://www.211info.org/

Oregon and Southwest Washington's comprehensive support hub for referrals to food, shelter, housing, foreclosure assistance, health care, and much more. Calls are confidential, anonymous and free. Certified Information and Referral Specialists assess the situation and refer callers using a locally managed database of over 4,200 programs. Listings for community, faith-based and public programs are continually updated. Telephone interpreters are available for help in more than 150 languages.
Crisis Services: http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/crisis.shtml

This is a helpful list of contacts from the Oregon Department of Human Resources for crisis situations including abuse and neglect, alcohol and drug addiction, domestic violence and intimate partner violence, problem gambling, mental health crises, and suicide prevention.
African-American Health Coalition: http://www.aahc-portland.org/index.htm

The AAHC promotes wellness for African Americans who live in Portland, Oregon. Their website offers health education, advocacy and research and provides health Information benefiting African-Americans. The site also includes up-to-date listings of health-related classes and events in the Portland area.
Aging and Disability Services Multnomah County: http://multnomah.or.networkofcare.org/aging/home/index.cfm

A new, award-winning site providing a wealth of information for seniors and people with disabilities. Find prescription assistance including Canadian mail order pharmacies, a database of assistive devices with prices and availability, and a library of information resources. There is also a searchable database of local service providers that you can search by zip code as well as by category.
Center for Health Statistics (Oregon.gov): http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/chs/

Compilations of a wealth of health statistics and reports for Oregon, including vital statistics such as births, deaths and abortions in Oregon. You may also order birth, death, marriage and divorce records from this site.
Multnomah County Health Department: http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/health/

Handy links to the directory of health services and organizations in the local area, the Oregon Food Handler's Manual and online test, and A, B, C de salud, a series of pamphlets in Spanish, intended especially for people who migrate back and forth from Mexico to the United States. There is also a list of immunization schedules and local health news. This is also a good place to find local food recalls.
Oregon Center for Health Statistics Oregon Vital Statistics County Data: http://www.dhs.state.or.us/dhs/ph/chs/data/cdb.shtml

Contains numerous statistical tables covering population, births and deaths in Oregon. Reports are available from 1993.
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine: http://www.ocom.edu/index.php

You can use the College library to search the catalog, chat online with a librarian and use the excellent selection of Internet resources on allopathic and biomedicine, Chinese and alternative medicine, and herbs and supplements.
Oregon Health Sciences University: http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/

Locate a doctor, visit the library, learn about clinical trials in the area or use MedlinePlus Go Local to find health professionals in the state. Some databases (those without a lock) are available to non-OHSU personnel through the All Databases page.
Oregon Medical Association: http://www.theoma.org/

In general, this site is most helpful to members of the OMA. You can find information and obtain copies of the advance directive form and POLST (physician orders for life-sustaining treatment) form on this page.
Oregon Medical Board: http://www.oregon.gov/OMB/

This portal page provides helpful links to direct you to information about physicians in Oregon. As a consumer, you can search for a physician, find malpractice claims, report a physician to the Board, and look at some frequently asked questions. As a professional, you can research licensing requirements for medical doctors, as well as acupunturists and physicians assistants, obtain forms and check the status of applications.
Returning Veterans Project: http://www.returningveterans.org/

This local resource offers free counseling and other health services for returning veterans and their families. You can search a database of local health professionals to find one for your specific needs and a list of links and resources takes you to additional services targeted specifically to veterans and their families.
Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance Program: hhttp://www.oregon.gov/DCBS/SHIBA/shiba_guide.shtml

The State of Oregon provides access to the Oregon Guide to Medigap, Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans. This guide includes comparative information on each of the plans, identifying which plans are available in each county.
Western States Chiropractic College: http://www.wschiro.edu/

The library page offers access to the catalog, databases and websites in chiropractice and alternative health..

Mental health

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: http://www.aacap.org/

Facts for Families sheets are available in English, Spanish, German, Malaysian, Polish, Arabic, and Icelandic. Everything from when a pet dies, to helping teenagers deal with stress, to children's sleep problems.
APA Help Center: from the American Psychological Association: http://helping.apa.org/

Online resource for brochures, tips and articles (for example, Managing your anxiety about H1N1flu swine flu ) on the psychological issues that affect physical and emotional well-being.
David Baldwin's Trauma Information Pages: http://www.trauma-pages.com/

Focus primarily on emotional trauma and traumatic stress, including PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) and dissociation, whether following individual traumatic experience(s) or a large-scale disaster. The purpose of this site is to provide information for clinicians and researchers in the traumatic-stress field.
NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness: http://www.nami.org/

Nami was organized to reduce the stigma of mental illness. Here you can find definitions and explanations of a variety of mental disorders as well as support, programs and research. Also available in Spanish.
National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov

Provides information about mental illness and mental conditions as well as the latest research on treatment. Find specific studies being conducted across the U.S. that are currently recruiting participants .
Noah (New York Online Access to Health) Mental Health: http://www.noah-health.org/en/mental/

High-quality consumer mental health information in both English and Spanish suitable for the lay person.

Health resources in other languages

These resources have been created to provide health information for diverse cultural groups, and for people whose native language is not English.

Consumer Health Materials in Spanish: http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/chspanish.html

Organizations, associations, foundations and state and regional agencies that provide health information in both English and Spanish.
Ethnomed: http://ethnomed.org/ethnomed/

The EthnoMed site contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and other related issues pertinent to the health care of recent immigrants to Seattle or the US, many of whom are refugees fleeing war-torn parts of the world.
MedlinePlus Easy to Read: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/easytoread/easytoread_a.html

Health and medical topics written for a fourth to sixth grade reading level. Topics are arranged alphabetically. MedlinePlus also contains a page of resources to Health Information in Multiple Languages and the site itself can be viewed in a Spanish version .
Multicultural Health Clearinghouse: http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/multiculturalhealth/index.htm

Health information for African Americans, Asians, Asian Pacific Islander, Latino, Native Americans, gay/lesbian and students with disabilities.
Salud-Biblioteca del Condado de Multnomah: http://www.multcolib.org/libros/ref/salud.html

Multnomah County Library's health resource page in Spanish.
ToxTown en espanol: http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/espanol/

An introduction to toxic chemicals and environmental health risks you might encounter in everyday life, in everyday places.
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/

Information is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Pet Health

MedlinePlus Pet Health: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pethealth.html

A comprehensive pet health resource that includes information about specific conditions, nutrition, first aid, medications, food safety, and more. Also contains journal articles and information about veterinary clinical trials.
ASPCA - Pet Care: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/

Up-to-date pet care information from ASPCA experts in behavior, nutrition, poison control, veterinary medicine and the human-animal bond. Includes access to pet behavior advice and an Animal Poison control hotline.
American Animal Hospital Association: http://www.healthypet.com

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) accredits animal hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada. AAHA-accredited hospitals voluntarily choose to be evaluated on over 800 standards. The site contains an AAHA-accredited animal hospital locator, articles about dogs, cats and exotic pets, information about pet diseases, and more.
Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital: http://dovelewis.org/

DoveLewis, located in Portland, OR, is the only non-profit animal hospital in the nation devoted to emergency and critical care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. DoveLewis also offers an Animal Assisted Therapy & Education program, pet loss support, and pet health & first aid workshops.
Oregon Humane Society: http://www.oregonhumane.org/

Established in 1868, OHS is the largest and oldest humane society in the Pacific Northwest. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization funded by voluntary contributions. The OHS web site provides information about pets available for adoption, training classes and resources, how to report animal abuse, spay and neuter assistance, and humane education
Portland Pooch: http://www.portlandpooch.com/index.htm

A comprehensive online guide to all of the wonderful doggy resources the Portland area has to offer. From doggy daycares to dog washes to descriptions of every dog park in the region, you can find it on this web site. It also includes information on local dog-friendly lodging and housing, a business directory, and links to local animal rescue and welfare organizations.

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