Searching MedlinePlus for Business and General Interest
By Lark Birdsong
Birdsong Research
MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov/) is a database of health information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and several other government agencies and health-related organizations. They have information on many health topics, drugs and supplements, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and current health news. Here are some examples of business and general interest uses for this website.
Business Use
I ended up finding several ways I would use this in a business setting and here are a few examples. For an employee (or a family member) who had a serious diagnosis there are several sections in the health topics section (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthtopics.html) that could help me gain an understanding of what they are facing. Another way to use it is to look for help with employee wellness in the health and wellness section under the health topics section. This website is easy to navigate. Once you start to use it you will find other ways to help the employer/employee. Many of the examples are highly graphical which help with hard to understand health topics.
General Interest Example
On a personal note I used it recently when my mom went into the hospital for some surgery on her heart. I wanted to gain an understanding of the procedure and found it quickly by clicking on the blood, heart and circulation link in the health topics section. A graphical picture came up of a person, I clicked on the heart and then on heart surgery and found my topic. Additionally there is a search feature on the home page which brings up several information sources quickly if the search topic is in the databases. I tried the search terms, ringing in ears, and found one (of several) topics that is relevant today; Can Loud Music Hurt My Ears? from the Nemours Foundation.
This is the first day of spring and I want to wish each of you a good transition into the warmer days to come for those residing in this hemisphere. If I can help you with any research please call.
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