Patient and Family Online Resources: 
PFAB's favorite website picks

Giving and Receiving Emotional Support
Health Literacy
Identifying a hospital or other Healthcare Resource
Preparing for your stay 
Insurance 
Disease knowledge
Creating your personal health record
Specifically for the Elderly 
Entertainment
Advance Directives

• Care Pages CarePages websites are free patient blogs that connect friends and family during a health challenge 
• Caring Bridge Free, personal, and private websites that connect people experiencing a significant health challenge to family and friends, making each health journey easier. 
• National Alliance for Caregiving Established in 1996, The National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit coalition of national organizations focusing on issues of family caregiving. 

Health Literacy

• AskMe3 Simple-to-understand (and remember) guide for communicating with your doctor in terms of three points: a) what is my main problem, b) what do I need to do, and c) why is it important for me to do this.
• Consumer and Patient Health Information Section A section of the Medical Library Association comprised of medical information professionals who have assembled a list of the top 100 medical information websites, selected using criteria of credibility, currency, design, disclosure, etc. 
• Advo Connection This site provides access to patients advocates, patient navigators, case managers, elder care advocates, home health, medical billing advocates, legal and other types of patient assistants who may be able to help you or your loved ones manage the many health care challenges. 
• DiagKNOWsis diagKNOWsis.org was started to help you sort out the questions, answers, and advice. It is provided by patients, from a patient's point of view. It was begun by someone who has been right where you are. It will help you take responsibility for your own health and medical decisions. It teaches you to become a better health and medical care consumer. 

Identifying a hospital or other Healthcare Resource

• HospitalCompare US Health & Human Services easy-to-use comparison of hospitals identified by location/specialty and rated in clear terms of patient satisfaction 
• United Way of Connecticut 2-1-1 Connecticut United Way resource hot line for referrals to healthcare services and more 

Preparing for your stay

• Connecticut Hospital Association - A Patient's Guide To Participating In Quality Hospital Care A comprehensive, clearly written resource that can be used as a guide or as a reference to the entire healthcare experience. This is just one of the multiple resources offered on this website created by a professional organization made up of Connecticut hospitals 

• Next Step in Care Created by the United Hospital Fund, Next Step in Care: Family Caregivers and Health Care Professionals Working Together is a multi-year, multi-dimensional campaign that is designed to change health care practice by routinely recognizing, training, and supporting family caregivers, especially at times of transitions in care.

Insurance

• Health Insurance Info .net Managed by Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, contains easy-to-read state-by-state “Consumer Guide to Getting and Keeping Health Insurance” as well as 3 pamphlets that give the basic facts on private health insurance, Medicare/Medicaid, and strategies for avoiding medical debt.
• Insure Kids Now Federal government site that explains federal and states offer health insurance coverage for children through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
• Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality Federal government site that includes a guide that describes different kinds of health insurance plans and answers common questions. There is a glossary of health insurance terms as well as resources for more information. 
• Medicare The official Federal government site for Medicare.
• America’s Health Insurance Plans Website containing a compendium of information from a national association representing nearly 1,300 member companies providing health insurance coverage to more than 200 million American 

Disease knowledge

• WebMD  A deep and comprehensive summary of health conditions A-Z, Drugs & Supplements, Healthy Living, Eating and diet and more.
• Mayo Clinic A comprehensive compendium of medical information indexed alphabetically and presented consistently in terms of overview, diagnosis, and treatment options. 
• Cleveland Clinic A deep dive into medical information, oriented for the patient, indexed by subject as well as special topics. Extensive use of video and offers RSS feeds for those interested in continuous updates on medical topics of interest. 
• CAPHIS- Consumer and Patient Health Information Section  The purpose of the CAPHIS Top 100 List is to provide CAPHIS members and other librarians with a resource to use in their daily practice and teaching. Secondly, it is our contribution to the Medical Library Association so that the headquarters staff can refer individuals to a list of quality health web sites. Our goal is to have a limited number of resources that meet the quality criteria for currency, credibility, content, audience, etc., as described on our website. These lists of resources expand upon the MLA Top Ten List.
• Medical Library Association – Top 10 most useful websites The Medical Library Association finds the following web sites particularly useful.
• Top 20 (Medical Information) 20 Top rated websites. The most linked to, and most popular sites for a category are short-listed, then visited and evaluated for relevance and content for the category being reviewed. The whole process is human-edited. 

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Creating your personal health record

• MyPHR Comprehensive portal of information resources on what a Personal Health Record is and how to start one. Includes extensive videos and testimonies of PHR usefulness. 
• Wikipedia Alternative straightforward explanation of PHR, and related resources 

Specifically for the Elderly

• Aftercare Tips for Elderly Patients Checking Out of the Hospital NYTimes article summarizing New England Journal of Medicine article containing practical tips for elderly being discharged from the hospital on how to stay out of the hospital 
• Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging Comprehensive information about the services and the programs available for older adults in Fairfield County. Services available in your home, insurance and Medicare information, access to applications for assistance are all available through this easy to navigate site. 

Entertainment

• Medical Jokes Nurse Jokes More Medical Jokes 

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Advanced Directives

• Connecticut Office of the Attorney General – Health Issues State-government approved forms for living will, advanced directives, etc. 
• St. Vincent Medical Center – Advanced Directives Refined, simplified, State-government materials for patients and families needing information on Advanced Directives 
• U.S. Living Will Registry A privately held organization that that electronically stores advance directives, organ donor information and emergency contact information, and makes them available to health care providers across the country 24 hours a day through an automated system.