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Health-Related WWW Links As a service and convenience to our visitors, we have provided the hyper-links listed below. These links are to other health-related and community-interest Web sites, and are provided for your convenience and entertainment. Crittenden Health Systems does not endorse these sites and the information contained in them should not be considered a reflection of our views. Crittenden Health Systems does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented on other Web sites, nor do we endorse the information presented in sites linked to this Web site. In addition, Crittenden Health Systems is not responsible for any errors or omissions in the information provided in any Web site linked to this site. We encourage you to confirm all health-related information contained on any Web site with your physician. Select a Topic of Interest:
Federal Government:
 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – Link to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an agency that provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes, quality, cost, use, and access. Information from AHRQ’s research helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.
Census Bureau – Link to the U.S. Census Bureau, whose mission is to be the preeminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States and whose goal is to provide the best mix of timeliness, relevancy, quality, and cost for the data they collect and services they provide. The site contains all types of survey data including various health and wellness surveys.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency that is recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people — at home and abroad, providing credible information to enhance health decisions, and promoting health through strong partnerships. The CDC serves as the national focus for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) – Link to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the federal agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In addition to providing health insurance, this agency also performs a number of quality-focused activities, including regulation of laboratory testing (CLIA). HCFA maintains oversight of the survey and certification of nursing homes and continuing care providers (including home health agencies, intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, and hospitals), and makes available to beneficiaries, providers, researchers, and State surveyors information about these activities and nursing home quality.
Department of Health & Human Services – Link to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.
Federal Consumer Information Center – In February 2000, the Consumer Information Center was united with the Federal Information Center to give birth to the Federal Consumer Information Center. This site covers health topics, as well as many other topics.
Food and Drug Administration – Link to the FDA, whose mission is to promote and protect the public health by helping safe and effective products reach the market in a timely way, and monitoring products for continued safety after they are in use. The FDA ensures that the food we eat is safe and wholesome, that the cosmetics we use won't harm us, and that medicines, medical devices, and radiation-emitting consumer products such as microwave ovens are safe and effective. FDA also oversees feed and drugs for pets and farm animals. Authorized by Congress to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and several other public health laws, the agency monitors the manufacture, import, transport, storage, and sale of $1 trillion worth of goods annually, at a cost to taxpayers of about $3 a person.
Food and Nutrition Information Center – Link to the FNIC, whose mission is to collect and disseminate information about food and human nutrition.
Healthfinder – Link to Healthfinder®, a free gateway to reliable consumer health and human services information developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthfinder® can lead you to selected on-line publications, clearinghouses, databases, web sites, and support and self-help groups, as well as the government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable information for the public.
Health Resources and Services Administration Information Center – The HRSA's Information Center provides publications, resources, and referrals on health care services for low-income, uninsured individuals and those with special health care needs.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau – The Health Resources and Services Administration's MCHB strives for a society where children are wanted and born with optimal health, receive quality care and are nurtured lovingly and sensitively as they mature into healthy, productive adults. The MCHB seeks a nation where there is equal access for all to quality health care in a supportive, culturally competent, family and community setting.
National Cancer Institute – Link to the NCI. The NCI is organized into the Office of the Director, one Center, and six Divisions, each specializing in a different aspect of cancer research. The NCI establishes plans and priorities for cancer research. The NCI’s NewsCenter provides recent and archived press releases and other information from the NCI.
National Center for Infectious Diseases – A division of the CDC, the mission of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) is to prevent illness, disability, and death caused by infectious diseases in the United States and around the world.
National Health Information Center – The NHIC is a health information referral service. The NHIC puts health professionals and consumers who have health questions in touch with those organizations that are best able to provide answers. NHIC was established in 1979 by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), Office of Public Health and Science, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute – A division of the NIH, the NHLBI provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood, in blood resources, and in sleep disorders. Since October 1997, the NHLBI has also had administrative responsibility for the NIH Woman's Health Initiative.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism – A division of the NIH, the NIAAA supports and conducts biomedical and behavioral research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. The NIAAA also provides leadership in the national effort to reduce the severe and often fatal consequences of these problems.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – A division of the NIH, the NIAID provides the major support for scientists conducting research aimed at developing better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent the many infectious, immunologic and allergic diseases that afflict people worldwide.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases – A division of the NIH, the mission of the NIAMSD is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research, and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.
National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases – A division of the NIH, the NIDDKD conducts and supports research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health. The Institute supports much of the clinical research on the diseases of internal medicine and related sub-specialty fields as well as many basic science disciplines.
National Institute of Mental Health – A division of the NIH, the mission of the NIMH is to diminish the burden of mental illness through research. This public health mandate demands that we harness powerful scientific tools to achieve better understanding, treatment and, eventually prevention of mental illness.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke – A division of the NIH, the mission of the NINDS is to reduce the burden of neurological disease--a burden borne by every age group, by every segment of society, by people all over the world.
National Institutes of Health / Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases ~ National Resource Center – The NIH ORBD~NRC was established in 1994 with a grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) of the National Institutes of Health to The National Osteoporosis Foundation. The center's mission is to provide patients, health professionals, and the public with an important link to resources and information on metabolic bone diseases, including osteoporosis, Paget's disease of the bone, osteogenesis imperfecta, and hyperparathyroidism. The Center is operated by the National Osteoporosis Foundation, in collaboration with The Paget Foundation and the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation.
National Institutes of Health – Link to the NIH, whose mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by: (1) conducting research in its own laboratories; (2) supporting the research of nonfederal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad; (3) helping in the training of research investigators; and (4) fostering communication of medical information. The NIH is one of eight health agencies of the Public Health Services which, in turn, is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Comprised of 27 separate components, mainly Institutes and Centers, NIH has 75 buildings on more than 300 acres in Bethesda, MD. From a total of about $300 in 1887, the NIH budget has grown to more than $20.3 billion in 2001.
National Library of Medicine – Link to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The NLM is located on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and is the world's largest medical library. The Library collects materials in all areas of biomedicine and health care, and works on biomedical aspects of technology, the humanities, and the physical, life, and social sciences. Housed within the Library is one of the world's finest medical history collections of old and rare medical works. The Library's collection may be consulted in the reading room or requested on inter-library loan. The NLM is a national resource for all U.S. health science libraries through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine®. For more than 100 years, the Library has published the Index Medicus®, a monthly subject/author guide to articles in 3400 journals. This information, and much more, is today available in the database MEDLINE® via the World Wide Web. MEDLINE has more than 11 million journal article references and abstracts going back to the early sixties. Other databases provide information on monographs (books), audiovisual materials, and such specialized subjects as toxicology, environmental health, and molecular biology. Through the Web at http://www.nlm.nih.gov, some 250 million searches of MEDLINE are done each year by health professionals, scientists, librarians, and the public. There is an increasing number of links between article references and full text, and a new service called PubMed Central will allow free access to a central repository of journal articles. The NLM has created a special Web site, MEDLINEplus, to link the general public to many sources of consumer health information. Research and Development is carried out by the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The LHNCBC explores the uses of computer, communication, and audiovisual technologies to improve the organization, dissemination, and utilization of biomedical information. Currently the Center is applying modern communications technologies to health care-related projects involving, for example, telemedicine, test-bed networks, virtual reality, and a Unified Medical Language System. The Visible Human Project® has created, in complete anatomical detail, 3-dimensional representations of the male and female human body, resulting in a large digital image library. "Profiles in Science" is the Center's new Web site that provides access to laboratory notes, photographs, and correspondence of notable American scientists. Established by Congress in 1988, the National Center for Biotechnology Information has assumed a leadership role in developing information services for biotechnology — the task of storing and making accessible the staggering amounts of data about the human genome resulting from genetic research at the NIH and laboratories around the nation. The NCBI is a recognized leader in basic research in computational molecular biology, and is also responsible for developing innovative computer solutions for the management and dissemination of the rapidly growing volume of genome information. NCBI distributes GenBank®, a collection of all known DNA sequences, and also provides access to the assembled Human Genome data. Both are accessible at http://www.ncbi.nih.gov. The Toxicology and Environmental Health Program (TEHIP), established at NLM in 1967, is charged with setting up computer databases from the literature and from files of governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The TEHIP has implemented the TOXNET® (Toxicology Data Network) system of 10 data banks useful in chemical emergency response and other applications. TOXNET is searchable without charge on the Web. The Extramural Programs Division provides grants to support research in medical informatics, health information science, and biotechnology information, as well as for research training in these areas. Network planning and development grants support computer and communication systems in health institutions and the study of new opportunities with high-speed computer networks in the health sciences. Health science library resource grants assist in improving information access and services for health professionals. Research and publications in the history of medicine and the life sciences are also supported. The NLM's Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) project, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/, develops and distributes multi-purpose, electronic "Knowledge Sources" and associated lexical programs. System developers can use the UMLS products to enhance their applications in systems focused on patient data, digital libraries, Web and bibliographic retrieval, natural language processing, and decision support. Researchers will find the UMLS products useful in investigating knowledge representation and retrieval questions.
National Safety Council – The NSC, founded in 1913 and chartered by the United States Congress in 1953, is the Nation’s leading advocate for safety and health. Its mission is "to educate and influence society to adopt safety, health, and environmental policies, practices, and procedures that prevent and mitigate human suffering and economic losses arising from preventable causes."
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion – The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Public Health and Science, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works to strengthen the disease prevention and health promotion priorities of the Department within the collaborative framework of the HHS agencies.
Office of Public Health and Science – The Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) serves as the focal point for leadership and coordination across the Department in public health and science, provides direction to program offices within OPHS, and provides advice and counsel on public health and science issues to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The OPHS is under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Health, who serves as the Senior Advisor on public health and science issues to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration – Link to SAMHSA, the Federal agency charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses.
SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information – Link to the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), the information service of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. NCADI is the world's largest resource for current information and materials concerning substance abuse. NCADI services include: (1) an information services staff equipped to respond to the public's alcohol, tobacco, and drug (ATD) inquiries; (2) the distribution of free or low-cost ATD materials, including fact sheets, brochures, pamphlets, monographs, posters, and video tapes from an inventory of over 1,000 items; (3) a repertoire of culturally-diverse prevention, intervention, and treatment resources tailored for use by parents, teachers, youth, communities, and prevention/treatment professionals; (4) customized searches in the form of annotated bibliographies from alcohol and drug data bases; (5) access to the Prevention Materials database (PMD) including over 8,000 prevention-related materials and the Treatment Resources Database, available to the public in electronic form; and (6) rapid dissemination of Federal grant announcements for ATD prevention, treatment, and research funding opportunities. The NCADI is the nation's one-stop resource for the most current and comprehensive information about substance abuse prevention and treatment. The NCADI is one of the largest Federal clearinghouses, offering more than 500 items to the public, many of which are free of charge. They distribute the latest studies and surveys, guides, videocassettes, and other types of information and materials on substance abuse from various agencies, such as the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The staff (English, Spanish, TDD capability) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to take your calls at 1-800-729-6686.
SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center - The Center for Mental Health Services – The Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) is responsible for leading the national system to deliver mental health services. Over the past century, knowledge and understanding of mental health issues has evolved substantially. Since its establishment a decade ago, CMHS has taken on many roles in order to meet the Nation's needs. As the Center's record of accomplishments has grown with respect to mental health treatment and support services, scientific advances and mental health research have yielded increasingly effective medications, therapies, and delivery strategies.
Social Security Administration – The Social Security Administration's Web site provides information about Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits, and Supplemental Security Income. The site also provides wage reporting information for employers.
Surgeon General – The Surgeon General of the United States has been the nation's leading spokesman on matters of public health.
www.health.gov – The www.health.gov site is a portal to the Web sites of a number of multi-agency health initiatives and activities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal departments and agencies.
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