For Patients & Families

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Electronic Databases

PUBMED - the largest medical database in the world, with over 16 million journal citations in all fields of healthcare.  Many items are available as free full-text.  Use Loansome Doc to order articles, or use the My NCBI feature to customize your search for access to available free text.  Passwords are required for Loansome Doc and My NCBI.  This version of PUBMED also shows which journals are held at St. Mary’s Health Sciences Library.
Stat!Ref – wide array of electronic textbooks for instant access all around the institution, or from home or office. Look up symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, drug side effects, billing codes. See Library staff for username and password.

OVID Online Journals – 50 key online journals across all fields of healthcare, dating back to the 1990s. See Library staff for username and password. 

Free Medical Journals Online –a website dedicated to the promotion of free access to journals over the Internet. 
MARVEL! Databases – Maine’s Virtual Library is a collection of databases featuring full-text professional journals in healthcare, business, science, and current events.  You may create your own password, and use the databases from home or office. 

Ask A Librarian

Would you like to ask the Library Staff a health question?  We’ll be glad to get the information to you as quickly as possible. Please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please read our DISCLAIMER.

Reliable Internet Health Resources

The Internet has thousands of health-related websites.  Some are better than others.  This list is a gateway to some of the Web’s best sources of health care information. Each link here will open in a new window.

MedlinePlus: The National Library of Medicine has developed an excellent page for health, with information on symptoms, treatments, and drugs in language anyone can understand.

Medical Dictionary:  The Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary, online and easy to use.

CAPHIS: The Consumer And Patient Health Information Section of the Medical Library Association brings together excellent resources in many areas of interest and concern - this is the CAPHIS Top 100 List.

Mayo Clinic: This site offers information on hundreds of conditions and syndromes, treatments, drugs, and therapies. 

MerckSource: A wide variety of core health tools and resources. Get the ABCs on hundreds of conditions, scan breaking medical news, sign up for the Harvard online health newsletter, or prepare for a visit to your healthcare provider.

MARVEL! Maine’s Virtual Library is a collection of full text databases in healthcare, business, science, and current events.  Resources are also available for students, from kindergarten through high school. 

Women’s Health: The National Women's Health Information Center has great information on women's health topics.

Men's Health: The Men's Health Network is an informational and educational organization recognizing men's health as a specific social concern.

Senior Health:  Topics geared to the needs of older people, with large, readable fonts. You can also turn on the sound and have items read aloud.

KidsHealth:  Health information about children from before birth through adolescence, with separate areas for kids, teens, and parents.

Cancer information:  The National Cancer Institute provides outstanding content about all aspects of cancer care, plus links to additional information.

Diabetes Information: The American Diabetes Association offers clear facts about managing diabetes, with nutrition tips, recipes, exercise ideas, a newsletter, and separate segments for kids and teens facing diabetes. 

Understanding Lab Tests:  A peer-reviewed, non-commercial site to help you understand clinical lab tests.

CDC Travelers' Health:  The Centers for Disease Control provide health information on specific destinations - what to know before you go! Information on outbreaks, vaccinations, food & water, traveling with children, special needs, much more.

The Internet is a great resource, but please remember that it is  unregulated.   Information from the Internet should not be a substitute for an informed discussion with your doctor or other health care provider. For more information on judging the reliability of health websites, see: Healthy Web Surfing: To help you learn about, evaluate, and select among the thousands of health-related sites.

Quackery & Fraud: Fight frauds, fads, and fallacies! NCAHF positions are based upon the principles of science that underlie consumer protection law.

Please read our DISCLAIMER.