Where do I go for clinical or disease information?
Best Treatments
Information is researched from the British Medical Journal and displayed in an easy-to-understand format.
Patient UK
Designed by GPs and EMIS and is a useful source of patient information leaflets, amongst other things.
Net Doctor
Attempts to break the language barrier between doctors and patients regarding disease and illnesses.
QRISK
QRISK is a new calculator that works out your risk of getting heart disease. It has been developed by doctors and academics working in the UK National Health Service.
Information on healthier living
BBC - Healthy Living
Simple, accurate advice from the BBC. Helps you to establish the dos & don'ts of living healthily.
Men's Health Forum
Fast, free independent information from the Men's Health Forum.
Women's Health Concern
Women's Health Concern is a charitable organisation that aims to help educate and support women with their healthcare by providing unbiased, accurate information.
NHS sites
NHS Constitution
The NHS Constitution was published on 21 January 2009. It was one of several recommendations in Lord Darzi's report 'High-Quality Care for All', published on the 60th anniversary of the NHS, which set out a ten-year plan to provide the highest quality of care and service for patients in England
NHS Choices
Aiming to personalise healthcare and provide information that will 'allow patients to make meaningful choices about when and where to receive their treatment.'
Charity websites
AWARE
'Overcoming Depression, Changing Lives'; Northern Ireland's leading mental health charity.
Cancerhelp
Free information service provided by Cancer Research UK about cancer and cancer care for people with cancer and their families. Information is formatted in such a way that makes understanding the website an easy process.
Cancer Backup
Europe's leading cancer information charity, with over 4,500 pages of up-to-date cancer information, practical advice and support for cancer patients, their families and carers.
The Mesothelioma Cancer Network
For information about this strain of cancer, click the link above.
Diabetes UK
The largest charity in the UK, devoted to the care and treatment of people with diabetes to improve their quality of life.
Asthma UK
This website has been revamped to meet the needs of the thousands of people with asthma who visit the site daily to find important information about asthma and how to control it.
Alzheimer's Society
Comprehensive information for people with all forms of dementia.
Tips on evaluating the reliability of online medical information
- Use sites from reputable organisations you have heard of.
- Double-check the information by looking for other sources.
- Check there are contact details for any organisation or people responsible for the information, not just an email address.
- Look at the advertising - does it seem to unduly influence the site content?
- All articles should quote references that you can look up.
- Watch out for claims about the superiority of any particular treatment over another.
- Is the information supplied with a date to ensure it has not been superseded by other research?
- Check the site's confidentiality policy.
- Beware of sites claiming to be the definitive source.
- Beware of sites that criticise others.