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CompareYourCare.org - The idea of this site is three-fold: Gauging the quality of your health care and your doctor; finding elementary knowledge and skills to manage an illness or health need; and selecting a doctor, health plan, or other provider. Users select the tool of greatest personal interest (e.g. asthma, diabetes, adult general health), then are asked a series of short topical quizzes about their health care, each one taking one or two minutes to complete. Users get personalized feedback, including a standardized numeric score, showing how their care from their doctor compares with others like them. Users also receive specific information on areas where their care is unusually good or poor, and tips on how to get better care in each area.

Links

• American Accreditation HealthCare Commission - Thirteen health-related website have been certified by this commission. WebMD, WellMed, InteliHealth (Johns Hopkins), the Health Insurance Association of America etc.... The commission is a nonprofit group but there is a lst of its Consultant Partners. There's a number of FAQ's which should be looked at as well as the sections Disclosure & Linking, Health Content & Service Delivery, Privacy & Security, Quality & Oversight and Standards that should be read.

• National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse (Columbia University) - CASA's program demonstrations focused on children at risk, ex-offender and ex-addicts, and substance abusing women on welfare, while the Medical Division is conducting an evaluation of substance abuse treatment nationwide.  There are links to other resources including those to international sites in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Pan American and the U.N. 

• AIDS.org:  Features an archive of articles from the journal AIDS Treatment News as well as the first accredited continuing education program on AIDS treatment available online;  Alive & Well Alternative AIDS Information Network:  A community of HIV-positive people who are avoiding drug treatments and challenge the theory that AIDS is caused the human immunodeficiency virus. 
  

• AIM - Administrators in Medicine, Association of State Medical Board Executive Directors. A number of states link to their medical boards which, in some but not all cases, allow you to see disciplinary actions against doctors. Iowa issues the actions taken  in the form of press releases. Maine calls its actions, Adverse Licensing Actions. Maryland find them under Board Orders. Massachusetts lists disciplinary actions under Disciplinary Action List, although that list gives no detail of the original complaint. The North Carolina Board gives a listing of the original complaint, the physician's response and subsequent ruling. Rhode Island goes as far back as 1987 for their list of reprimanded doctors. There is also information about the licenses individual doctors hold. The State of Washington has a Medical Quality Assurance Commission which is available for comments and other states provide complaint forms. 

• American Society of Clinical Oncology - A nonprofit cancer research organization dedicated particularly to patient-oriented clinical research. Features on the site that are useful to the lay person include ASCO publications, abstracts from the annual meeting, ASCO Annual Report, updates on legislative developments and  ASCO policy statements on issues such as genetic testing and pain control. Other specific guides are directed to finding an oncologist and community and Internet resources.

• BenefitsCheckup - Sponsored by the National Council on the Aging and funded, in part, by Lucent Technologies, those over 55 years old can connect with untapped public assistance regarding Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, state drug benefits, Meals on Wheels, food stamps, health-insurance counseling, veterans' medical care and transportation; give information about the paperwork involved; and offer the addresses and phone numbers of local government offices.

• Bio Med Central - BioMed Central publishes peer reviewed research across all areas of biology and medicine. The site is launching the first group of research journals in a new publishing initiative that will allow groups of researchers to publish online journals representing their community as well as publishing meeting abstracts. The site highlights recent articles that might provoke or augment your searches. Bio Med Central is another part of the Current Science Group as is PubMed and PubMed Central.

• Chemotherapy: Dealing with the Ill Effects - A pamphlet distributed by the Department of Medical Oncology of North Bend Medical Center, Coos Bay, Oregon and prepared by Sue Nowlin,a RN, this is helpful in those day-to-day living situations that many medical personnel may not have the time to prepare you for: fatigue, bathing, shopping, laundry, exercise, energy conservation and much more. A part of  CancerLynx .

• Cochrane Collaboration. Cochrane's goals are to prepare, maintain and promote the accessibility of systematic reviews of the effects of health care interventions. A unique and valuable resource. 

• National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The Center states that its purpose is to "facilitate the evaluation of alternative medical treatment modalities" to determine their effectiveness and ... provides for a public information clearinghouse and a research training program. The NCCAM does not serve as a referral agency for various alternative medical treatments or individual practitioners.

• Canadian Women's Health Network - In English & French; women representing over 70 organizations from every province and territory. It "respects the diverse realities of women's lives and takes an active stance in ending discrimination based on gender, region, race, age, language, religion, sexual orientation or ability." Centers of excellence, a clearinghouse of information and a hotline number are provided.
  

• CancerandCareers.org - This site terms itself as "a resource and community for working women with cancer and their employers, coworkers and caregivers. " Funded by Cosmetic Executive Women (nonprofit organization representing women in the U.S. and European beauty industries) the site aims help women deal with cancer "in the same way that they have learned to deal with problems at work — strategically, knowledgeably, and effectively. With the right tools — articles, news, charts, checklists, tips and a community of experts, patients, and survivors — women can continue to work through treatment."

• Cancer Detection and Prevention Journal Online - Publication of papers that bear directly or indirectly on primary and secondary cancer prevention including the role of genetics, biotechnology, biochemistry, immunology, virology, toxicology, radiation oncology, pathology, biostatistics, public health, etc.  All manuscripts undergo peer review, most important for the lay person to note in deciding if the information they are reading online has validity with professionals in the field. There is a searchable database of previous articles. I checked under 'Ovarian' and found a considerable listing of articles I found extremely interesting.

• CancerLinks - A well-recommended site started by a private individual; with extensive links that have been pre-sorted for you. Use the tutorials to understand their search methods; a Spanish language version is available, too.

• CancerGov - The National Cancer Institute's site contains sections on funding, clinical trials, research, general information and statistics. The search engine will look through an index of content on Cancer.gov and other NCI Web sites. In many cases, you will see a list of "Best Bets" above the regular search results. Best Bets offer links to NCI content that Cancer.gov staff has determined may be most relevant to a search query.

• Cancer Trials Help - Developed by Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups, has subsections for healthcare professionals, Coalition members, patient advocates and patients / families / caregivers list is provided of available trials being conducted by the seven cooperative groups which are members of the Coalition.
  

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