Top Ten Most Useful Health Websites for Consumers

I’ve just run across a news bite that I want to share with everyone interested in obtaining accurate and reliable healthcare information for themselves and their families. It’s also a great resource for those of us who work in healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing.

The Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of the Medical Library Association has published its list of the most useful websites for healthcare consumers. Listed in alphabetical (not ranked) order, the “top ten” are:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• FamilyDoctor.org
• HealthFinder.gov
• HIV InSite
• KidsHealth
• MayoClinic.com
• Medem Medical Library
• Medline Plus
• National Cancer Institute
• New York Online Access to Health (NOAH)
All of the healthcare websites were evaluated on the following criteria: credibility, sponsorship/authorship, content, audience, currency, disclosure, purpose, links, design, interactivity and disclaimers.

How Do You Count Your Cash?

Now, more than ever, we need to “think global and act local.” Despite the fact that the internet has made the world a smaller place, it hasn’t eradicated many of the more subtle cultural differences that separate us. For just one example, check out “How People Count Cash,” a nifty little video that shows how people all around the world have their own, unique ways of counting currency.

These subtle cultural differences can be critical if you’re doing business in an unfamiliar market. It’s one of the reasons why our firm has long cultivated a network of partner agencies, regionally, nationally and worldwide: IPREX , one of the world’s largest global public relations networks, and the Northeast Partnership, which consists of seven PR firms in New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine), New York and New Jersey.

It’s part of our commitment to “The Power of Specialized Thinking.” Not only have we organized our practice areas — health care + pharmaceutical, technology + business services, financial + professional services, investor relations, branding + visual communications and online fluency — to reflect our belief that depth of expertise always yields the best outcomes, but also because we’re convinced that geographic and cultural specialization are more productive and often more cost efficient for our clients.