<p>Can anyone recommend a CC-type Medical forum? I know there are many out there but I thought it wise to pick the brains of the knowledgeable CC community first.</p>
<p>There are a couple health issues I would like to research, so I would prefer to start with a general-type forum rather than a specific health issue forum. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>I don’t know about “forums” per se, where one can have discussions, but both WebMD and Mayo Clinic are two sites that I trust. Here:</p>
<p><a href=“Medical Diseases & Conditions – Mayo Clinic”>Medical Diseases & Conditions – Mayo Clinic;
<p><a href=“http://www.webmd.com/”>WebMD - Better information. Better health.;
<p>Webmd used to have forums with medical professionals as moderators, who would answer questions. Somewhere along the line, they stopped paying and having the professionals. They lost a significant portion of their posters afterwards. </p>
<p>I participate in a few forums that are chronic disease specific. NHLBI and NIZh have good info about a variety of health issues. Am not familiar with any forum that discusses general health issues, as most are devoted to specific chronic conditions. </p>
<p>I have not found a general medical forum I could recommend. And I’ve looked. It’s easier to find decent medical forums for pets, but even then it’s iffy.</p>
<p>There are lots of them out there, depending on what disease you have. E-patient Dave (who is a visiting lecturer at the Mayo Clinic, with the topic of patient empowerment) has links to many forums on his web site: <a href=“http://www.epatientdave.com/”>http://www.epatientdave.com/</a></p>
<p>Dave DeBronkart became an advocate for patient-directed care as a result of his experiences with (stage 4) kidney cancer. </p>
<p>Thank you all. @HImom that is interesting about Webmd - great idea to have medical professionals as moderators… Too bad they stopped it - probably got pricey.</p>
<p>They told the MDs & others pros, they were “going in a new direction.” They sold it to a nonprofit org since. It was a great place when they had MDs and others facilitating. I actually got to meet one of the folks who moderated at a national medical conference and we became good friends.</p>
<p>Medical forums can be a source of liability, as it is tough to get a full and accurate picture online. It’s also tough to know how to interpret “advice” and responses. Usually, forums try to provide “general” overall advice rather than tailoring it to specific situations. Most couch the forum in “always check with YOUR medical professional, as the site is not a substitute for personal medical advice.” Forums can be useful for sounding out ideas, like this one, but they can also have incorrect information as well if not carefully monitored and facilitated.</p>
<p>The yahoo forums used to be good, I have not checked in years, but learned a huge amount about an unusual condition of a family member. It was most helpful in finding ways to improve quality of life and realizing triggers.</p>
<p>Don’t know about general forums, just Dr Bob, who hosts a blog dealing with mental issues.
<a href=“http://www.dr-bob.org”>http://www.dr-bob.org</a></p>
<p>webmd accepts paid ads, and it does seem to influence content. The Mayo clinic site is better, IMO. medline plus is also good–it isn’t really a forum, but if you need info, it’s a good place to start. <a href=“MedlinePlus - Health Information from the National Library of Medicine”>http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/</a></p>
<p>Here’s an article that may give you some ideas of how to distinguish good from bad sites. <a href=“How to Find the Best Medical Information Online | HuffPost Post 50”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost;
Of course, I like it because it names the two sites I already use most! </p>
<p>For just about any type of cancer, Cancercompass.com has a good message board.</p>
<p>Mayo clinic website is my go to.</p>
<p>Thanks. I have gone to both NIH and Mayo - both good sites. </p>