Chapter 39 MEDICAL AND
LEGAL INTERNET SITES AND RESEARCH
INTERNET
ADDRESSES GENERALLY........... 39:2
Some
Popular Search Engines 39:3
MEDICAL
INFORMATION WEBSITES.............. 39:4
Physician
Information.............. 39:5
Medicare........
39:5
Patient
and Consumer Information.............. 39:5
Medical
Trade Associations.............. 39:6
Alternative
Medicine 39:7
HEALTH
LAW WEBSITES.............. 39:8
Health
Website Search Engines and Jumpsites 39:8
Government
Health Statistics............ 39:10
LAW
RELATED WEBSITES............ 39:11
Law
Search Websites............ 39:11
Nevada
Law Websites............ 39:12
Other
Important Nevada Websites............ 39:12
Nevada
Local Government Websites............ 39:13
FEDERAL
LAW WEBSITES............ 39:14
Congress......
39:14
Executive
Branch............ 39:15
United
States Statutes and Regulations............
39:16
United
States Government Sites... 39:16
UNITED
STATES COURTS............ 39:19
U.S.
Court Rules............ 39:19
U.S.
Supreme Court.. 39:19
U.S.
Courts of Appeal 39:19
U.S.
District Courts 39:20
U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, Nevada 39:20
Court
Administration and Bar Associations............
39:20
LAW
SCHOOLS AND LAW LIBRARIES............ 39:23
LEGAL
FORMS AND DO-IT-YOURSELF SOURCES............
39:23
HOW
TO FIND PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET............ 39:24
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The
Internet is composed of several “domains,” the most well-known of which is
the World Wide Web (www). The Web
is attractive because of its ability to deliver graphics, sound, and video.
Other “domains” of the Internet--gopher, telnet and e-mail,
etc.--contain only text.
To
use the Internet, a subscriber connects a (home) computer to an Internet Service
Provider’s (ISP) computer by a modem. A
modem may use a regular telephone line to dial into the ISP’s computer which,
in turn, connects the subscriber’s modem, via high speed fiber optic cable, to
the Internet. High speed telephone
line connections (DSL) to the Internet are now available in Las Vegas and Reno.
This connection does not require an additional telephone line, can be
used simultaneously while talking on the phone, and is as fast or faster than
the usual cable modem connections. Call
your local telephone service to inquire about the availability and cost of a DSL
connection in your area. Cable
modem connections are also available in most cities including Las Vegas and
Reno. These are also several times
faster than the standard telephone line modem connections.
Contact your local cable provider for information on cable modem service.
Free access to the Internet may be available at your public library for
those wishing to utilize this service. Students
at our state colleges and universities are routinely granted free Internet
service.
In
summary, to access the Internet a person needs a computer, a modem, and an
Internet Service Provider (ISP). For
high speed connections, the telephone company or your cable company provider
will be your ISP. With standard
telephone line connections, many ISPs are available.
Perhaps the most common are America-On-Line (AOL) and MSN (Microsoft
Network). One month’s free
subscription to AOL is available utilizing their CD-ROM which can be found at
most computer stores and book stores. Other
ISP providers include ISAT, ATT, and Netscape.
Most anyplace that sells modems will be happy to assist a person in
selecting and signing on with an ISP.
INTERNET
ADDRESSES GENERALLY
World
Wide Web (www) addresses follow certain formats. Academic institutions use an “.edu” designation.
For example http://www.unlv.edu
is the address for the UNLV website.
“http”
stands for hypertext transfer protocol; “www”
stands for World Wide Web; “unlv” is the name of the school; and “edu”
means it is an educational institution.
Naming
of government Web sites works in a similar fashion. The U.S. House of Representatives is at, http://www.house.gov
The “gov” extension applies to government.
A “.mil” extension applies to the military.
For example: http://www.army.mil
is the website for the U.S. Army.
Commercial
sites are denominated “com”, organizations’ sites end with “org”, a loose affiliation uses a “net” suffix; however,
exceptions exist. Many of the
“org” sites are helpful in cataloging government Web resources, such as
citizen watchdog groups or civic organizations.
Almost
all companies and corporations have Web sites ending with “.com”
If you’re not sure about an address, try using “com”
For instance, within law, there is information about green cards at
http://www.immigration.com Judicial
addresses are found at http://www.courts.com These Web sites are starting
points, with links to others in the same field.
Non-US
end with a two letter abbreviation of the country. Sites in Canada end with “.ca”, in France it’s
“.fr” and sites in the United Kingdom end in “.uk”.
(The Parliament home page is http://www.parliament.uk/ and the Louvre
Museum in Paris has an address of: http://www.louvre.fr/ ) In England “ac” denotes a school, instead of the US
convention using “.edu” The
URL for Cambridge University is http://www.cam.ac.uk/
Addresses
are case sensitive--it makes a difference whether you use upper or lowercase
letters.
Additional
elements of an address may indicate a subdirectory. The Nevada state courts home page, located on the Nevada
State computer, is at http://www.nv.gov/courts/
If a private individual has a Web site, the address will typically
consist of the address of the private Internet provider, followed by a
~ tilda and the
person’s name, or an abbreviation of it.
Most
of the medical and legal information available on the Internet is free, reliable
and easy to sort through. There are
several possible approaches to locating medical and legal information on the
Internet. These include general
searches with search engines.
SOME POPULAR SEARCH ENGINES
AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com/
Ask
Jeeves
http://www.ask.com/
Excite
http://www.excite.com/
Google
http://www.google.com/
HotBot
http://www.hotbot.com/
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com/
Alternatively,
and more efficiently, one can go to specific websites for information.
Many of these will have links to other related websites.
What follows are primarily non-commercial (free) websites: medical
websites first, then health law websites, and finally law-related websites.
MEDICAL INFORMATION SITES
American
College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine
http://www.acponline.org/
Cochrane
Library
http://www.updateusa.com/clibhome/clib.htm
MEDLINE
PubMED
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed
Internet Grateful Med
http://igm.nlm.nih.gov/
Other Sources
http://www.medmatrix.org/
Scientific
American Medicine
http://www.samed.com/
Clinical
Evidence
http://www.evidence.org/index-welcome.htm
eMedicine
http://www.emedicine.com/
Medical
Matrix
http://www.medmatrix.org/reg/login.asp
Medical
World Search
http://www.mwsearch.com/
Journal
listings
http://www.nthames-health.tpmde.ac.uk/connect/journals.htm
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/medjournals.htm
Clinical
practice guidelines
http://www.guidelines.gov/
http://www.cma.ca/cpgs
MD
Consult (free 10 day trial, then about $ 200 per year; the University of Nevada
School of Medicine makes this resource available for students and faculty)
http://www.mdconsult.com/
EBMR
Reviews (OVID)
http://www.ovid.com/products/cip/ebmr.cfm
PHYSICIAN INFORMATION
Dept.
of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General
http://www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oig/cumsan/index.htm
List
of Parties Excluded from Federal and Non-procurement Programs
http://www.arnet.gov/epls
Administrators
in Medicine
http://www.docfinder.org/
American
Board of Medical Specialties
http://www.certifieddoctor.org/
MediNet
http://www.askmedi.com/
MEDICARE
Medicare
Carrier’s Manual
http://www.hcfa.gov/pubforms/pub14/pub14toc.htm
Medicare
Information
http://www.medicare.gov/
Medicare
Rights
http://www.medicarerights.org/index.html
PATIENT AND CONSUMER INFORMATION
American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
http://www.acog.org/
Children’s
Hospital of Iowa Virtual Children’s Hospital
http://www.vh.org/
The
HMO Page
http://www.hmopage.org/
Health
Decisions, Inc.
http://www.hdi.com/
Dr.
Koop’s Web Page
http://www.drkoop.com/
National
Coalition on Health Care
http://www.nchc.org/
ObGyn.net
http://www.obgyn.net/
MEDICAL TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
American
Association of Health Plans
http://www.aahp.org/
American
Bar Association
http://www.abanet.org/
American
Bar Association-Health Law Section
http://www.abanet.org/health/home.html
American
Health Care Association
http://www.ahca.org/
American
Health Lawyers Association
http://www.healthlawyers.org/
American
Hospital Association
http://www.aha.org/
American
Medical Association
http://www.ama-assn.org/
American
Public Health Association
http://www.apha.org/
American
Psychiatric Association
http://www.psych.org/
Association
of American Medical Colleges
http://www.aamc.org/
Association
of State Medical Board Executive Directors
http://www.docboard.org/
Blue
Cross and Blue Shield Association
http://www.bluecares.com/
Health
Insurance Association of America
http://www.hiaa.org/
Healthcare
Financial Management Association
http://www.hfma.org/
Home
Care Association of America
http://www.hcaa-homecare.com/
Medical
Group Management Association
http://www.mgma.com/
Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
http://www.jcaho.org/
National
Commission for Quality Assurance
http://www.ncqa.org/
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Center
for Alternative Medicine
http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/utcam
U.C.
Davis Center for Complimentary and Alternative Research in Asthma
http://www-camra.ucdavis.edu/
FDA
Guide to Choosing Medical Treatments
http://www.fda.gov//oashi/aids/fdaguide.html
National
Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine
http://altmed.od.nih.org/
Phytochemical
and Ethnobotanical Databases
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/
Rosenthal
Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/rosenthal
HEALTH LAW SITES
HEALTH SITE SEARCH ENGINES AND JUMPSITES
American
College of Legal Medicine
http://www.aclm.org/
American
Association of Medical Colleges
http://www.aamc.org/
Database
of Charitable Organizations (includes IRS Form 990 Information)
http://www.guidestar.org/
Doctor’s
guide
http://www.pslgroup.com/Docguide.htm
Dr.
Koop
http://www.drkoop.com/
General
Services Administration-Fedlaw
http://www.legal.gsa.gov/
Healthcare
Financial Management
http://www.hfma.org/
HealthWeb
http://www.healthweb.org/
Healthfinder
http://www.healthfinder.gov/
Hieros
Gamos Guide to Law and Government
http://www.hg.org/
Infomine
http://www.info-mine.com/
Inside
MEDICINE: Latest
http://www.lifestages.com/
Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations (JCAHO)
http://www.jcaho.org/
MED
WEB
http://www.med-web.com/
Medical
Education Online
http://Med-Ed-Online.org/
National
Commission on Quality Assessment
http://www.ncqa.org/
National
Guideline Clearinghouse
http://www.guideline.gov/body_home_nf.asp?view=home
New
England Journal of Medicine Online
http://www.nejm.org/content/index.asp
Nursing
World
http:// www.nursingworld.org/
Patient’s
Guide
http://www.pslgroup.com/PTGUIDE.HTM
Pharmulary
http://www.pharmulary.com/
St.
Louis University School of Law
http://lawlib.slu.edu/centers/hlthlaw/
Today
on Medscape
http://www.medscape.com/
U.S.
National Library of Medicine
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
Villanova’s
Federal Web Locator
http://www.law.vill.edu/
Welcome
to Americasdoctors.com
http://www.americasdoctor.com/
Your
Surgery.Com
http://www.yoursurgery.com/
GOVERNMENT HEALTH STATISTICS
Census
Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
Centers
for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/scientific.htm
General
Accounting Office
http://www.gao.gov/
National
Center for Health Statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/
LAW RELATED SITES
LAW SEARCH SITES
Washburn
Law School Library
http://www.washlaw.edu/
Georgia
State University law search page, search court opinions from one page
http://gsulaw.gsu.edu/metaindex/
Search
all state government Web sites from one page
http://www.findlaw.com/
State
Court Locator, at Villanova Univ. Law School
http://www.law.vill.edu/
All
court rules, from Genie Tyburski and Law Librarians Resource Exchange
http://www.llrx.com/columns/litigat.htm
Emory
Law School Reference Desk, find law and dictionaries and everything else here
http://www.law.emory.edu/LAW/refdesk/toc.html
Constitutions
from all states. Constitutions
listed below are posted by the states.
http://www.harbornet.com/rights/states.html
All
state administrative codes
http://www.nass.org/acr/acrdir.htm
Search
law reviews, at Findlaw, the leading law library on the Web, in Palo Alto,
California
http://www.findlaw.com/
Address
directory for all courts, from a private publisher
http://www.courts.com/
All
State and Local Governments on the Net
http://www.state.me.us/states.htm
All
municipal and county codes online, there are about 500 municipal and county
codes online
http://www.spl.org/govpubs/municode.html
(very comprehensive)
http://www.municode.com/database.html
All
county recorders in the United States address directory from Peelle Management
Corp.
http://www.zanatec.com/home.html
NEVADA LAW SITES
UNLV
Law Library, “Nevada Law Links” (the
outstanding law site for Nevadans)
http://www.law.unlv.edu/library/nevlinks.html
Nevada
Revised Statutes and Administrative Code, session information, from the
Legislature
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/
Clark
County Bar Association “Legal Links”
http://www.clarkcountybar.org/legal_links.htm
Eighth
Judicial District Court (Clark County)
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/distcrt/courthome.htm
Nevada
Index
http://www.nevadaindex.com/
Nevada
Supreme Court Library
http://www.clan.lib.nv.us/polpac/nsc/nscl.htm
Washoe
County Bar Association
http://www.wcbar.org/links.html
Washoe
County Law Library
http://www.co.washoe.nv.us/lawlib/related.htm
OTHER IMPORTANT NEVADA SITES
Nevada
State Constitution
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/other/
(gateway page, links to annotated version)
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/other/Constitution.html
(download 1.8 mg file)
Live RealAudio
broadcasts of the Legislature
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/audio/
Nevada Supreme
Court opinions, last 90 days
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/scd/OpinionListPage.html
Attorney General
opinions since 1993
http://www.state.nv.us/ag/agopinion/
Department
of Business and Industry--agencies list
http://www.state.nv.us/b&i/
Washoe
County Library, telnet to library catalog
http://www.washoe.lib.nv.us/
Second
District Court, Washoe County, rules
http://www.distcourt.co.washoe.nv.us/
Las
Vegas Municipal Court, traffic citation information
http://www.ci.las-vegas.nv.us/Las_Vegas_Municipal_Court.htm
Justice
Court, Public Defender and District Attorney, Las Vegas Township
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/big12/safety/safety.htm
Clark County
property tax assessments
http://www.lasvegas.com/features/taxes/
State
Bar, member information
http://www.nvbar.org/
State
of Nevada
http://www.state.nv.us/
Reno
municipal code
http://www.cityofreno.gov/
NEVADA
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SITES
Carson City
http://www.carson-city.nv.us/
City of Henderson
http://www.cityofhenderson.com/
City of Las Vegas
http://www.ci.las-vegas.nv.us/
City of North Las
Vegas
http://www.ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us/cnlv/
City of Reno
http://www.reno.gov/
Clark County
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/
Washoe County
http://www.co.washoe.nv.us/
FEDERAL LAW
CONGRESS
U.S.
Constitution
http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDERAL/usconst.html
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html
U.S. House of
Representatives and Senate--access to all federal law and complete law library
for states, links to member and committee pages
http://www.house.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/
Live digital
camera view of the House floor and legal lectures, in RealVideo
http://www.cspan.org/
Audio, video and
text of Senate floor speeches
http://gov.electronic-cottage.com/
U.S.
Code--several places to access statutes
http://fedlaw.gsa.gov/
(master index of federal laws online)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
http://uscode.house.gov/
Code of Federal
Regulations, Federal Register and Congressional Record, GAO Comptroller opinions
(several versions)
http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/congress.html
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html
http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/
THOMAS--access
legislation, Congressional Record, bill summary and status, etc. This is a
really good place to do keyword searches for pending bills in House or Senate.
http://thomas.loc.gov
List of
legislative resources on the Internet, including links to the House, Senate,
GPO, and other congressional information sources
http://www.loc.gov/global/legislative/congress.html
http://www.loc.gov/global/legislative/mega.html
http://www.washlaw.edu/searchlaw.html
Uniform Commercial
Code
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/ucc.table.html