Enhancements to Ovid

MEDLINEplus: a Source of Health Information for Patients

MEDLINE, a database of biomedical literature for the health-care professional, is produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). To fill the growing need for authoritative information for patients and consumers, NLM also sponsors MEDLINEplus, which is a directory of evaluated Web sites arranged by disease, condition, or wellness issue. A recent addition to MEDLINEplus is a compendium of drug information provided by the U.S. Pharmacopeia in USP Dispensing Information, volume 2: Advice for the Patient. Included in the drug information module are over 9,000 prescription and over-the-counter drugs which one can search by either generic or brand name. For each class of drugs, MEDLINEplus includes indications, dosages, precautions, and side effects.

The link to the USP appears on the left-hand side of every MEDLINEplus page. Additional links on the drug information home page lead to the Food and Drug Administration site for consumer information on newly approved drugs and to Clinical Trials.gov for current information about clinical research studies.

A second new feature of MEDLINEplus is a Medical Encyclopedia from ADAM.com. This extensive resource includes over 4,000 illustrated entries on diseases, injury, nutrition, poison, special topics, surgery, symptoms, and tests. To use the site, first select the category, then click on either the term or appropriate beginning letter.

MEDLINEplus also includes a search engine that will search a term or phrase in all components of the site. Remember that all sites included in MEDLINEplus are evaluated by a board of advisers for accuracy and reliability.

Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health

In May 2000, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released Oral Health in America: a Report of the Surgeon General. Innopac, the LSUHSC libraries catalog, includes a record for the electronic version of this report with a link to the Web site. An executive summary as well as the full report can be downloaded in pdf format. The library will also order and catalog the paper version when it becomes available at the end of the summer.

The Surgeon General’s report found that the poor and minorities suffer worse oral health than other Americans due to lack of knowledge and financial resources. The report also emphasizes the impact of oral disorders on systemic diseases and overall wellness and discusses recommendations for research, national and community programs, and personal and professional preventive measures.

To retrieve the report or the executive summary directly, go to http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/sgr/oralhealth.asp on the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Web site.