MedlinePlus Adds Patient Handouts

MedlinePlus now contains a Patient Handouts section. Patient handouts are concise documents containing basic information on a disease, disorder, or other health problem. They may include lists of tips or how-tos on dealing with a disease or condition.

To experience the new Patient Handout feature of MedlinePlus, simply go to the Maguire Medical Library homepage and click on MedlinePlus from the Resource Name scroll-down box. From the MedlinePlus homepage, click on the Health Topics link on the left hand side of the screen: 

 
  

Then select a health topic for which you would like to see a patient handout. For instance, you may choose Digestive System>Acid Reflux (GERD). The patient handout for this disease is located in the blue "For You" box in the search result page for GERD. It indicates that there are three patient handouts for this disease available on the site. You may choose the "Gastroesophageal reflux - discharge" handout. You can view this same handout directly by clicking this link http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000197.htm