Who recommends it: Jane S. Davis, DNP, CRNP
Why: The patient section of this site contains recipes and health information. Patients can register for the Kidney Peers Program, in which they match up either as a mentor or a mentee with another kidney patient in the US. It covers the range from moderate kidney disease to kidney failure and transplant.
Also recommended: DaVita (www.davita.com); Fresenius Medical Care (www.ultracare-dialysis.com)
Orthopedics
OrthoInfo
orthoinfo.aaos.org/
Who recommends it: Mike Rudzinski, RPh, RPA-C
Why: Endorsed by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, this site offers patients information on the most common musculoskeletal conditions. Includes patient education materials with anatomic pictures and discussion. This is my “go to” site for these conditions; it offers an incredible, comprehensive overview of the condition, options for care including potential surgery, and what the patient can do to improve the condition. It is easy to use for the patient—they just click on the anatomic body part involved and a list of conditions comes up.
Rheumatology
American College of Rheumatology
www.rheumatology.org/Practice/Clinical/Patients/Information_for_Patients/
Who recommends it: Rick Pope, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, CPAAPA
Why: Vetted by the American College of Rheumatologists, whose faculty is nationwide, altruistic, and collaborative, it is chock full of resources that are the standard of thinking and care for rheumatic conditions. It includes “scary” diagnoses such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, with short, patient-specific resources that can take the sting out of the perceived notions of these diseases. The information is available in Spanish and English. The Spanish information sheets can be provided to our Hispanic population and European populations that speak primarily Spanish. This is an awesome service for those of us on the East Coast and likely more helpful in parts of the country where Spanish is spoken more commonly.