Consumer Health Resources / 'Healthier U': Consumer Health

• Mental Health Challenges for Aging Americans, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, School of Nursing and Health Studies: This resource shares how to understand depression among aging Americans, including the factors that complicate diagnosis, and how to recognize and respond to depression among older adults.

• Addictions.com https://www.addictions.com/rehabs/north-carolina
• Methadone Centers, Resource Center by State
• North Carolina Alcoholics Anonymous meeting page, Alcoholics Resource Center
• North Carolina Drug Recovery, Narconon
• Narcotics.com https://www.narcotics.com/na-meetings/north-carolina/
• Rehab.com https://www.rehab.com/north-carolina

• Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2006-present

 
The LactMed® database contains information on drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. It includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant. Suggested therapeutic alternatives to those drugs are provided, where appropriate. All data are derived from the scientific literature and fully referenced. A peer review panel reviews the data to assure scientific validity and currency.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501922/

• American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org
• University of Pennsylvania’s Oncolink:  www.oncolink.org

• Clinicaltrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov/
• Find Clinical Trials For You, HealthMatch (Australia); https://healthmatch.io/

• FairHealth Consumer (gives costs on specific procedures) https://www.fairhealthconsumer.org/. From their website: FAIR Health's mission is to help you understand your healthcare costs and health coverage and to bring transparency to healthcare costs and insurance. We are an independent, national nonprofit organization known for providing fair and neutral information to all those we serve, including consumers like you. We are able to provide reliable information about healthcare costs because each year health insurers around the country send us over a billion healthcare bills, which are added to FAIR Health's database of more than 29 billion claims. We use information from those claims to estimate what providers charge, and what insurers pay, for providing healthcare to patients all across the country. We make this information available to consumers, researchers, businesses and many other users.
• Healthcare.gov https://www.healthcare.gov/find-provider-information/. How to find health care provider Information
• Doctors and other care providers: Compare the performance of physicians and other health professionals near you.
• Hospitals: Compare hospitals near you based on a large variety of quality-of-care measures. Includes information on some Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.
• Nursing homes: Compare nursing homes based on quality, staffing, health inspection reports, and more.
• Home health agencies: Compare the quality of care provided by home health agencies.
• Dialysis facilities: Compare the quality of care in dialysis facilities near you.
• Long-Term Care Hospitals: Compare the quality of care in long-term care hospitals.
• Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities: Compare the quality of care in inpatient rehabilitation facilities.
• Hospice Agencies: Compare the quality of care given by hospices near you.
• HospitalInspections.org--Association of Health Care Journalists (listings by state) http://www.hospitalinspections.org
• US News and World Report https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals. Find the best hospital for you, by zip code

• Consumer Products Information ID:  https://www.whatsinproducts.com/ If you buy any consumer products from a store, the chemical makeup of that product is in this database.  Want to know what is in WD-40?  Windex?  Clorox?  Sevin dust?  Find out here.
• Foodsafety.gov:  https://www.foodsafety.gov/index.html
• Genetics Home Reference:  http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/
• Lab Tests Online: https://labtestsonline.org/.  Want to know what a CBC test is?  Hint: complete blood count.  Any test your doctor orders can be found in this extensive database of tests frequently done in medical offices.
• Merck Manuals, Consumer Edition: https://www.merckmanuals.com/home
• NIH News in Health:  https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/
• OpenMD.com: https://openmd.com/
• Patient.Info: Patient.info 
• Patient Education Guide to Safe Pain Management, EduMed.org: https://www.edumed.org/resources/safe-and-responsible-pain-management/

• American Academy of Family Practitioners:  www.familydoctor.org

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC):  http://www.cdc.gov/
• ClinicalTrials:  https://clinicaltrials.gov/.  What clinical trials are ongoing?  What is the status of a clinical trial in my area?  More information here.
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA):  http://www.fda.gov/
• LiverTox:  http://livertox.nih.gov/aboutus.html.  Want to know about diseases and conditions of the liver?  Find out here.
• HealthFinder:  http://healthfinder.gov/.  Want to find a hospital, doctor or skilled care facility?  Find out here.
• Health Care Costs and Quality.  Local, state & national prices.   Guroo:  http://www.guroo.com/#!.  Find out the average cost of national, state or local procedures.  What does hip replacement surgery cost?  Find out here.
• Medicare Hospital Compare:  https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html?.  Compare hospitals for quality and ratings.

“Understanding the Male Menopause and Mental Health”
Male menopause can be a difficult time for older men, with symptoms beginning to affect their well-being; and with the COVID-19 pandemic halting normal life, it can have an even bigger impact on their mental health. 
Our guide covers information on:
•    Understanding "male menopause" - separating facts from fiction, and why it can be misleading (and harmful) to group the different changes and conditions affecting men as they age under this label.
•    The physical and emotional changes associated with male menopause why men should always seek a proper medical diagnosis for said symptoms.
•    The effect on men’s mental wellbeing - from memory loss and lowered libido to secondary effects like fatigue, insomnia, and irrationality - and their impact on daily life.
•    Helpful tips and advice for managing symptoms, lifestyle changes and treatments that can help, and other useful information.
Feel free to review the full version of the guide here: https://www.optimale.co.uk/trt/trt-manual/male-menopause-mental-health-guide/

• MedlinePlus:  https://medlineplus.gov/ Outstanding free resource!
• MedlinePlus Dictionary:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
• MedlinePlus Drug Guide:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html
• MedlinePlus Espanol (Spanish):  www.medlineplus.gov/spanish
• MedlinePlus Health Topics:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthtopics.html
• MedlinePlus Herbs & Supplements:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

• Cleveland Clinic, Health Library:  http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health
• Mayo Clinic:  http://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-care-and-health-information

NC LIVE is North Carolina’s statewide library cooperative, supporting 200+ public and academic libraries across North Carolina. Since its founding in 1997, NC LIVE has saved the state millions through innovation and collaborative efforts.

https://www.nclive.org/

• ​Patients like me:  https://www.patientslikeme.com/.  If you have a disease or condition, patients with that disease share information on their lives, support groups or online support for families here.

• Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide: http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org  This website gives consumers the ability to see how hospitals are graded on a scale of A to D on a host of services. Hospital grades can be found by state, local and zip code.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement: http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Tools/Ask-Me-3-Good-Questions-for-Your-Good-Health.aspx

• HerbList (free--available in the Apple Store & Google Play Store) from the National Library of Medicine

Learn about herbs and botanicals that are used in complementary and integrative health approaches with the free HerbList app from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). For each herb or botanical, the app includes an identifying picture, common names, information on what the science says, potential side effects and cautions, and resources for more information. Additional features include the ability to mark favorite herbs for quick recall and offline accessibility. From the National Institutes of Health’s NCCIH, the HerbList app offers trusted, credible information.  App Store OR Google Store​

• Medical Price Roulette: CBS News investigates the lack of transparency in America's health care system, September 20, 2019