Patients are looking more to sources outside of their own doctors for information about diseases and treatment options. The Internet is a growing source of both information and misinformation.  Medical advances, product recalls and emerging diseases are in the news almost daily. 

This section provides links to patient-oriented information from a variety of sources. Even though our editors or members posted these resources because they found them helpful, they are variable in terms of the hallmarks of information quality.

We hope you will use the resources in our sections on Data Quality and Internet Health to increase your skill in judging the quality of any health information you find.

There is no information in any book or website that can replace the care of a qualified health provider in assessing or treating any individual condition. Please see the disclaimer in our Terms of Service for a full disclosure, and be sure to read the terms of service and disclaimers of any other resources you visit.

That being said, it is critical to have quality information to understand and make decisions about personal and family health. Many excellent resources provide such information, and increasingly patients are self-taught and well-informed about their diagnoses and treatments because of them.

The next critical junction is for patients and providers to work together with what patients have learned, to apply the information to the individual situation. We are gathering resources about this point, since it is a changing theme in the patient-provider relationship. Visitors are welcome to join ClevelandHealth.info to add your opinions, experience and favorite resources about this topic.