S1Ep8 Finding reliable medical information online

Care Partners Compass: Navigating CRC

Welcome to the eighth episode of Care Partner's Compass: Navigating CRC where I talk to medical librarian Carrie Price about how to find reliable medical information online.

I know I learned a lot from Carrie during this episode (including how awesome medical librarians are!), I hope that you do too.

Full transcription can be found on the website (http://carepartnerscompass.transistor.fm)

Host, producer/editor, and composer: Elsa Lankford
Guest: Carrie Price, Research Impact & Health Professions Librarian at Towson University

Kristine - here's to doing fun stuff - I love you ❤️

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Helpful links related to this episode:

• PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
• MedlinePlus: https://medlineplus.gov/
• NCI: https://www.cancer.gov/
• To limit a google search:

  fruquintinib site:.gov

  (first result is sponsored but rest of results are .gov sites)

• Examples of patient health libraries at cancer centers:
  • Mayo: https://monument.health/mayo-clinic-health-information-library/
  • Johns Hopkins: https://johnshopkinshealthcare.staywellsolutionsonline.com/
  • MSK (Memorial Sloan Kettering): https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/diagnosis-treatment/symptom-management/integrative-medicine/herbs
• Google alerts - to get an email once a day, once a week, or as it happens with search results (I have Google alerts for clinical trials, pharmaceutical companies, etc. that I'm following

• (01:28) - Being bombarded with information, not knowing if it's trustworthy
• (02:34) - Why medical librarians are awesome
• (03:30) - Finding trustworthy and understandable information - Medline Plus and the NCI database
• (05:03) - MedLine Plus can be helpful to look up supplements too
• (05:41) - How to make Google be a little more predictable and trustworthy with its results
• (06:38) - Getting somebody more science-oriented onto your support team can be very helpful
• (08:02) - PubMed has a lot of articles, here's some tips on narrowing down the results
• (11:09) - How to be more sure about your article from PubMed
• (13:04) - Google Alerts can be helpful, but it can be more helpful if an article has been vetted and isn't sensationalist
• (14:00) - When the headline is too good to be true
• (15:33) - FDA drug approval database
• (16:38) - Larger cancer centers have helpful online patient health libraries
• (17:15) - The importance of looking up supplements (and asking the onc about them too)