Time
again for our Website of the Week, when we showcase interesting and innovative
online destinations. Our web guide is VOA's Art Chimes.
This
week, we're featuring one of the top medical information sites on the Web.
"On WebMD, we have both medical news and general health
information," says Dr. Michael Smith, Chief Medical Editor at WebMD.com.
"We
actually have a WebMD news center. In addition we have an expansive medical
library with everything from videos and tools to features and a complete
reference library."
At
WebMD, you can keep up with the latest medical research, learn about specific
diseases and conditions, and even try to diagnose a problem through the
"symptom checker" feature.
And
everything is reviewed by experts. "So every piece of content on our site
actually goes through a doctor's eyes. A board-certified physician will look at
the content, make sure it's up to date, accurate, and doesn't have anything
misleading that might be misconstrued by a lay audience."
WebMD
is an advertiser-supported site, but Smith said the editorial and advertising
departments are kept separate to ensure that sponsors don't influence the news
and information.
Among
the many other features are almost 200 message boards on subjects ranging from
allergies to yoga.
"The
message boards allow you not only to communicate with others living with your
condition, but it also allows you to post questions for health experts, either
physicians or nurses, a wide variety of health professionals, even
nutritionists in the diet and nutrition area, to actually post questions to
them, ask a specific question, and get a response back."
There
are also special sections for men, women, and children's health issues,
nutritional advice, and much more.
Good
health information is only a click away at WebMD.com, or get the link to this
and more than 200 other
Websites of the Week from our site, voanews.com.