Understanding Your Medical Condition or Procedure

Being an INFORMED PATIENT includes finding out more about your medical condition, the medical procedure or treatment which has been recommended and suggestions for the next steps to getting the appropriate treatment and care. Listed below are Web sites and resources that will help you learn more about your condition or procedure:


Web Sites
  • Questions are the Answer, You can improve your care and the care of your loved ones by taking an active role in your health care. Ask questions. Understand your condition. Evaluate your options.
  • Healthcare 411, is a news series produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ’s mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. AHRQ is the lead Federal agency in the effort to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors.
  • HealthFinder® (available in Spanish), a resource developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide descriptions of medical conditions and information on causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention
  • HealthWeb, a collaborative project of health science libraries providing hundreds of health, disease and reference links
  • National Library of Medicine, includes links to health-related sites, resources and databases that can be used to research health conditions and diseases


Additional Resources