Upstate NY Go Local - Helping consumers connect to local healthcare resources

The NY 3Rs Association, Inc., in partnership with the National Library of Medicine, is spearheading the creation of “Upstate NY Go Local” a consumer website that links health information in Medline Plus to a database of local health resources – clinics, support groups, health screening groups, hospitals and others.  The database – called Go Local (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocal/about.html) – is being created by the 7 NY 3Rs councils north of Westchester County, and is scheduled for debut in October 2010.  (Downstate areas will be covered at a later date.) The Councils are partnering with hospital libraries in their regions to find local health resources and add them to the Go Local database.

 

While MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov/), which offers information on over 750 health topics, drugs, medical terminology, and the latest medical developments, as well as interactive tutorials, information about clinical trials, and surgery videos, is very important, connecting consumers with local health resources and services in their own communities is also critically important.

Upstate New York Go Local will help to improve the health, quality of life and longevity of consumers by providing easy access to authoritative, reliable, and up-to-date national and local health care information. Go Local, in combination with MedlinePlus, will provide “one-stop shopping” for:

• authoritative healthcare information in an easy-to-understand format
• information for both specific diseases or health conditions as well as resources that support treatment
• help in making more informed healthcare decisions
• retrieving the most current and authoritative information from reliable data sets that are maintained by professional medical librarians
• locating hospitals, clinics, physicians, and other providers in all health service areas
• connecting with free, reliable health information and resources to make wise lifestyle and healthcare choices
• connecting with local and national support groups, local and national health associations, and basic life services such as food pantries and domestic violence shelters

For more specific information and how you can help our effort, contact your local NY3Rs Council. Volunteers to help local resources and enter data are needed!