Federal Government:

http://www.healthfinder.gov and http://www.firstgov.gov are two government websites that are useful reference tools and starting points for any health related or medical concerns.

Product Safety

For general information on consumer product safety and recalls visit http://www.cpsc.gov.

Food and Drug Administration (Drug Side Effects):

The FDA’s website, http://www.fda.gov, is one of the best medical sites on the Web, because of the tremendous amount of information it has about drugs, medical devices, recalls, cosmetics, and more. Another good government database is http://www.fsis.usda.gov, which lists updated news on food and drug safety.

General information on drug side effects and recalls can be found at http://www.drugdigest.com, http://www.mypillbox.org/mypillbox.php, and http://www.pdrhealth.com/. Medical news and drug warnings can be found at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com and http://www.medlineplus.gov.

Basic explanations of drug side effects and broad discussions on symptoms and ailments can be found at http://www.webMD.com. For more specific references to drug and medical device recalls go to http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/safety.html. Also, drug facts and comparisons can be found at http://www.skolar.com/index.html, which is a Web-based medical knowledge service for patients and physicians to view facts and statistics.

Patient Safety:

MEDMARX is an internet-accessible database that offers reports and anonymously tracked medication errors— http://www.medmarx.com. Also the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) offers education about adverse drug effects and their prevention— http://www.ismp.org.

Drug Recalls:

In recent years more studies have been done on the effectiveness, safety, and side effects of many prescription and over the counter pharmaceutical drugs. To keep up to date on the latest warnings and drug recalls visit http://www.recalls.gov or http://www.pharmacopeia.com/wt/page/index. The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists also provides bulletin boards relating to drug warnings and clinical trial materials— http://www.aaps.org/

Dangerous Chemicals and Materials:

Manufacturers of dangerous substances are required by law to put out information about the risks associated with their products. These warnings are what are referred to as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Good MSDS index sources are located at:

• http://www.siri.org/msds
• http://www.setonresourcecenter.com/MSDS
• http://hazard.com/msds/
• http://www.epa.gov/tri/lawsandregs/index.htm
• http://www.accepta.com/Industry_Water_Treatment/MSDS.asp
• http://www.ilpi.com/msds/ref/chip.html

Environmental Protection Agency (Including Pesticides):

A comprehensive website that offers a multitude of information on pesticides and other toxic substances is http://www.epa.gov. Two other sites that list general warnings and any related news are http://www.firstgov.gov and http://www.hhs.gov.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (Job Injuries):

Job related health and safety information can be found at:

• http://www.osha.gov
• http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html
• http://www.nycosh.org

Material Safety Standards:

Two websites that offer listings of government standards for marketed products and operation are:

• http://www.astm.org
• http://www.ansi.org

Vehicle Recalls and Auto Safety:

Automobile and other motor vehicle recall information is available through The Unofficial Guide to the DMV, http://www.dmv.org and http://www.autosafety.org. More general information and current news on automobile safety can be found at http://www.autosite.com and http://www.nhtsa.gov.

Three good websites that offer specific recall information are:

• http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls//Index.cfm
• http://www.cpsc.gov/

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention:

Exhaustive databases of health and safety information, including health and travel alerts, as well as useful statistical data can be found at:

• http://www.cdc.gov
• http://www.firstgov.gov
• http://www.hhs.gov

Aviation Safety:

Since the tragic events of September 11^th, aviation safety has become an increasing concern for travelers around the world. A comprehensive website that offers standards of aviation safety and travel alerts can be found at http://www.faa.gov.

General Medical Subjects:

• MedicineNet is an all-encompassing site with a Q&A page, where visitors pose questions to doctors as well as research medical news, drug information, and more— http://www.medicinenet.com
• Mayo Clinic has a world-renowned clinic’s site, with a keyword searchable library, Q&A with Mayo doctors, weekly medical news, and more— http://www.MayoClinic.com
• The New England Journal of Medicine website contains many published articles that allow users to join a listserv to receive electronic versions of the journal— http://www.nejm.org
• MEDSCAPE is a searchable database of current articles and health-related links— http://www.medscape.com
• MEDWEB is Emory University’s keyword searchable database, which contains numerous medical subjects and a huge library of medical links to information on nearly every medical specialty— http://www.medweb.emory.edu/MedWeb/
• WebMD is a comprehensive website that offers pharmaceutical and medical information on drugs, medical devices, and illnesses— http://www.webMD.com
• Health A to Z is a medicine-specific search engine that offers links to a plethora of other medically related websites— http://www.Healthatoz.com

National Library of Medicine:

An excellent government site with Medline access, news, information on publications, and special programs, which is a good starting point to medical searches ca be found at http://medlineplus.gov/