Physician-Recommended Websites for Patients

Familydoctor.org / "I recommend The Family Doctor site through the American Academy of Family Physicians as a good resource for patients for symptom checkers and general disease information. It is practical advice for patients with up-to-date-references."Deborah Winiger, MD, an Illinois-based solo family physician

Hormone.org / "I refer patients to the patient education page of the Endocrine Society, which contains information about a variety of endocrine disorders. I recently had a patient who had been reading a book by "Chrissy" from "Three's Company." I asked her to go to the website to get another perspective on the treatment of osteoporosis. I also ask patients with diabetes and thyroid disease to look at the site, and often print PDF versions of their educational materials for patients too."Melissa Young, MD, a New Jersey-based endocrinologist

KidsHealth.org / "This is [our practice's] favorite site with different articles written specifically for parents, school-aged children, and teens. The site addresses a number of common health and wellness issues in language that is easy to understand and medically accurate."Terence R. McAllister, MD, a Massachusetts-based pediatrician

CDC.gov / "I use the CDC's website for all my patients that travel and need to know what vaccines to get before their trip. They go to the link, click on the destination country, and a customized page will pop up with what vaccines are recommended for those specific countries that are endemic with certain diseases."Elizabeth Seymour, MD, Texas-based family physician

SparkPeople.com / "This is a great site for patients looking to lose weight or improve overall health. It offers online support groups, and you can sign up for daily e-mail reminders for whatever your health goal is." Jennifer Frank, MD, a Wisconsin-based family physician

MayoClinic.org / "The Mayo Clinic is a reputable website for patient education. I like it because it is written to patients and easy to read, and it has a wide range of topics from which to choose."Jennifer Frank, MD

Orthoinfo.aaos.org / "OrthoInfo is an excellent site from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. It explains the gamut of orthopaedic conditions and their treatments, without the hype one gets from the likes of Dr. Oz."Stephen Rockower, MD, a Maryland-based orthopaedic surgeon