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Focus On: healthfinder

Wed, 01/03/2001 - 1:00am — Karen Stevenson
Description: 

By Dr. David Lansdale, PhD

This week, Dr. David Lansdale interviews Dr. Mary Jo Deering, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Deering is the Director of Health Communication and eHealth in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She oversees http://www.healthfinder.gov, the official Federal consumer health gateway and coordinates a variety of initiatives dedicated to improving the quality of health information on the Internet.

Q: Let's begin with a brief history of healthfinder.

A. healthfinder was created in direct response to the Vice President's call to improve consumer access to health information. The Vice President and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched the site in 1997. Since then, the site has added special sections for Spanish-speakers, men and seniors to its "Just for You" section. And on December 20th, the Surgeon General launched a new "healthfinder(R) Kids" section.

Q. What is the mission of healthfinder?

A. healthfinderseeks to provide easy public access to resources from Federal, State, and local agencies; voluntary and professional organizations; and other reliable non-commercial sources. In the current context of heightened concern about privacy and quality on commercial health web sites, healthfinder is widely acknowledged as a leading source of trustworthy information and guardian of users' privacy. We do not try to be the definitive source of information on any one topic, nor do we offer the most technical medical and scientific information. But we do provide an easy-to-use, comprehensive array of carefully reviewed resources (over 4,500) on over 1,000 topics, from 1,850 selected organizations around the country.

Q. How does healthfinder fit into the strategy of DHHS for addressing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as a result of significant gains in longevity, both in the United States and abroad?

A. healthfinder is the official Federal gateway to consumer health information. Its special section on seniors is designed to facilitate information access for older people, including resources on health promotion and disease prevention. It has extensive resources for caregivers and on choosing health care providers and facilities. It has dozens of helpful resources on difficult end of life issues. healthfinder does not limit its content to a single agency or condition, but tries to serve the broad information needs of seniors and their families. healthfinder has been specifically tested with seniors to ensure the appropriateness of our presentation and design as well as of the technology used. In addition, healthfinder is the featured information resource for supporting Healthy People 2010, the national prevention initiative that includes a national goal of increasing the quality and years of healthy life (see wee.health.gov/healthypeople). The White House and FirstGov.Gov (the Federal-wide search engine) link to healthfinder as their principal consumer health portal.

Q. What role do you see the Internet playing in the aging space in the coming years?

A. Seniors are already one of the fastest growing groups on the Internet. It seems a perfect fit for their desire for information and connection. As technologies improve, with easier use, even more older people will find this an attractive communication mechanism. Also, the Internet is going to play an ever increasing role in the delivery of health care. It is already beginning to change our concepts of how health care providers could and should interact with their patients. It can bring about behind-the-scenes improvements that raise the quality of care and reduce errors. As seniors face problems of health care continuity because they move about or because they require multiple providers, they should look to digital personal health records which they themselves control and which they share with their diverse providers. Senior should actively encourage their health plans and providers to make optimum use of the Internet for both clinical care and services like scheduling appointments or communicating by email.

Q. How might ElderWeb help healthfinder achieve its mission?

A. ElderWeb is a very helpful compendium of news and resources. It will help healthfinder.gov--and the seniors we hope to serve--by informing its readers about the site and its resources. But ElderWeb and its readers can play a more direct role as well: we value your critical scrutiny and suggestions for improvement. Your know what is important, what is helpful, and what is NOT! If there are issues or specific resources we have overlooked, or if you think we should reconsider something we already include, or if we can improve our presentation, please tells us: email healthfinder@health.org. Also, we are currently working on a new and improved healthfinder, and we invite your readers to test it out! Please visit www.healthfinder.gov/betatest. Look at it, try it, and tell us what you think. You will see, on the top right hand corner of each page, a link that says "Please Comment on This Page." Click there, and give us an earful about each and any page that you visit.

Dr. David Lansdale, founder of the Linking Ages program which connects older adults to the Internet, will be conducting a series of interviews for the ElderWeb newsletter. He will speak to representatives of key organizations that serve consumers, professionals, legislators, and others interested in aging and eldercare.

By Dr. David Lansdale, PhD

This week, Dr. David Lansdale interviews Dr. Mary Jo Deering, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Deering is the Director of Health Communication and eHealth in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She oversees http://www.healthfinder.gov, the official Federal consumer health gateway and coordinates a variety of initiatives dedicated to improving the quality of health information on the Internet.

Q: Let's begin with a brief history of healthfinder.

A. healthfinder was created in direct response to the Vice President's call to improve consumer access to health information. The Vice President and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched the site in 1997. Since then, the site has added special sections for Spanish-speakers, men and seniors to its "Just for You" section. And on December 20th, the Surgeon General launched a new "healthfinder(R) Kids" section.

Q. What is the mission of healthfinder?

A. healthfinderseeks to provide easy public access to resources from Federal, State, and local agencies; voluntary and professional organizations; and other reliable non-commercial sources. In the current context of heightened concern about privacy and quality on commercial health web sites, healthfinder is widely acknowledged as a leading source of trustworthy information and guardian of users' privacy. We do not try to be the definitive source of information on any one topic, nor do we offer the most technical medical and scientific information. But we do provide an easy-to-use, comprehensive array of carefully reviewed resources (over 4,500) on over 1,000 topics, from 1,850 selected organizations around the country.

Q. How does healthfinder fit into the strategy of DHHS for addressing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as a result of significant gains in longevity, both in the United States and abroad?

A. healthfinder is the official Federal gateway to consumer health information. Its special section on seniors is designed to facilitate information access for older people, including resources on health promotion and disease prevention. It has extensive resources for caregivers and on choosing health care providers and facilities. It has dozens of helpful resources on difficult end of life issues. healthfinder does not limit its content to a single agency or condition, but tries to serve the broad information needs of seniors and their families. healthfinder has been specifically tested with seniors to ensure the appropriateness of our presentation and design as well as of the technology used. In addition, healthfinder is the featured information resource for supporting Healthy People 2010, the national prevention initiative that includes a national goal of increasing the quality and years of healthy life (see wee.health.gov/healthypeople). The White House and FirstGov.Gov (the Federal-wide search engine) link to healthfinder as their principal consumer health portal.

Q. What role do you see the Internet playing in the aging space in the coming years?

A. Seniors are already one of the fastest growing groups on the Internet. It seems a perfect fit for their desire for information and connection. As technologies improve, with easier use, even more older people will find this an attractive communication mechanism. Also, the Internet is going to play an ever increasing role in the delivery of health care. It is already beginning to change our concepts of how health care providers could and should interact with their patients. It can bring about behind-the-scenes improvements that raise the quality of care and reduce errors. As seniors face problems of health care continuity because they move about or because they require multiple providers, they should look to digital personal health records which they themselves control and which they share with their diverse providers. Senior should actively encourage their health plans and providers to make optimum use of the Internet for both clinical care and services like scheduling appointments or communicating by email.

Q. How might ElderWeb help healthfinder achieve its mission?

A. ElderWeb is a very helpful compendium of news and resources. It will help healthfinder.gov--and the seniors we hope to serve--by informing its readers about the site and its resources. But ElderWeb and its readers can play a more direct role as well: we value your critical scrutiny and suggestions for improvement. Your know what is important, what is helpful, and what is NOT! If there are issues or specific resources we have overlooked, or if you think we should reconsider something we already include, or if we can improve our presentation, please tells us: email healthfinder@health.org. Also, we are currently working on a new and improved healthfinder, and we invite your readers to test it out! Please visit www.healthfinder.gov/betatest. Look at it, try it, and tell us what you think. You will see, on the top right hand corner of each page, a link that says "Please Comment on This Page." Click there, and give us an earful about each and any page that you visit.

Dr. David Lansdale, founder of the Linking Ages program which connects older adults to the Internet, will be conducting a series of interviews for the ElderWeb newsletter. He will speak to representatives of key organizations that serve consumers, professionals, legislators, and others interested in aging and eldercare.