Health Care Issues

Sites about health-related public policy and the provision of health care plans and services.

Sub-headings:

Medical Insurance

Services that inform consumers about obtaining and selecting medical coverage.

Patient's Rights

Information about what patients or those undergoing treatment should expect from a physician, caregiver or treatment center.

Physicians and Hospitals

Assistance in finding a doctor or healthcare provider.

Resources in this category:

The American Academy of Dermatology
http://www.aad.org/

"The American Academy of Dermatology...embodies excellence in patient care, education and research; adherence to ethical conduct; and responsiveness to its members and to the public." This site provides links regarding public and patient information, professional information and organizations, and press releases.

Global Volunteer Network
http://www.volunteer.org.nz/

Facilitates the placement of volunteers in international communities. Primarily focuses on collaboration with outreach programs, education, production, and conservation projects.

Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs
http://www.jhuccp.org/

Part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, this site promotes worldwide health communication in the area of reproductive health. Find over 450 reproductive health, population and development organizations; the POPLINE database of citations on population, family planning, and related health information; and full text articles on these topics.

Mercy Medical Airlift
http://mercymedical.org/

Provides information on charitable medical air transportation for needy patients. Also contains stories and news on medical air transportation.

NAHHH - Homes that Help and Heal
http://www.nahhh.org/

"The National Association of Hospital Hospitality Houses, Inc. is a non-profit corporation serving facilities that provide lodging and other supportive services to patients and their families when confronted with medical emergencies." Contains a list of available lodgings for patients and families when treatment is away from home.

The National Health Policy Forum (NHPF)
http://www.nhpf.org/

From the NHPF homepage: The National Health Policy Forum is a participant-driven, nonpartisan information exchange program that works to foster more informed government decision making.

National Patient Travel Center
http://www.patienttravel.org/

Exists to help patients find charitable long-distance medical air transportation for treatments. Provides National Patient Travel HELPLINE Program, Special-Lift and Child-Lift Programs, Airline Tickets for Patients/Escorts, Volunteer Pilot Organizations, Air Ambulance Coordination, and Charitable Aviation Program Management.

NIH Consensus Development Program
http://consensus.nih.gov/

"The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Program is the premier health technology assessment and transfer program in American medicine. Under this program, NIH organizes major conferences that produce consensus statements resolving controversial issues in medicine important to health care providers, patients, and the general public. NIH Consensus Statements are disseminated widely to practitioners, health care policymakers, patients, the general public, and the media." Past Consensus Statements and Technology Assessment Statements can be viewed online, along with news and information on upcoming activities.

The Swedish Handicap Institute
http://www.hi.se/templates/Page____132.aspx

The Swedish Handicap Institute works to provide access to well-functioning assistive technology that will improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. It works to stimulate research, analyze needs and encourage the testing of assistive technology by providing information and training to professionals in such technology for different categories of disabilities.

World Health Organization Mediacentre
http://www.who.int/inf/

Provides "access to all the latest news, press releases, fact sheets, and multimedia content from the WHO," updated daily.

World Health Organization Statistical Information System
http://www.who.int/whosis/en/

The WHOSIS Web site (WHO Statistical Information System) provides core health statistics and epidemiological data as well as information presently available in the World Health Organization. More than 70 indicators, along with their definitions, can be accessed via a quick search.