A new Web site targets consumers who want to take a more active and assertive role in their healthcare choices with easy-to-follow tutorials. Launched by The Cooper Institute for Advanced Studies in Medicine and the Humanities, the site (www.cooperinstitute.org) provides a set of online tools that allows consumers to define their health objectives and get educated about them.
The site's virtual patient education center features:
- A health brief tool kit that includes a series of "how to" electronic brochures on several healthcare topics.
- A physician profiler that provides a comprehensive list of major healthcare professional information databases, including physician, complementary practitioners, mental health professionals and dentists.
- On the Hill Legislative Update that provides links to sites that track federal and state healthcare legislation.
- Up Close & Personal Interview Series that includes in-depth interviews with leading healthcare experts and patients on hot-button topics like technology, legislation and business.
- At the Core of Care Physician Award recognizes physicians who have been nominated by their patients as model healthcare providers.
(Cooper Institute, 941/261-3290)