On-line medical information is not a replacement for proper medical care and evaluation by a physician. I have recently had some patients that did not have primary doctors and had symptoms of illness. In both cases they went on-line. One patient found his problem on a medically accurate site that directed him to go to a physician, which he did. The other patient went on-line and found several sites that were vague. From his description they were not reputable medical web sites. He delayed care by several weeks by looking on line and thinking his problem was a minor episode of indigestion. However, he had heart symptoms that finally resulted in a heart attack a trip to the ER and emergency heart by-pass surgery.
What about Wikipedia? Wikipedia itself reports that they have an error rate. Most colleges and universities will not accept Wikipedia as a source for research. The reason is the way Wikipedia works; anyone can post an article on Wikipedia. "Wikipedia is collaborative writers by largely anonymous Internet volunteers who write without pay. Anyone with internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles," this per Wikipedia.
So where can you get accurate medical information? Stick with universities, medical schools, government agencies and specific disease associations or societies for accurate medical information on-line.
A few of examples of reliable web-sites:
World class medical centers such as the Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/
Government organizations such as National Institute of Health http://www.nih.gov/
Major teaching centers such as The University of
The largest local hospital system such as Northern
Disease specific websites such as:
American Heart Association www.americanheart.org/
American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org/
American Cancer Society www.cancer.org/
Remember, on-line medical information does not replace good
medical advise by your doctor!
