1997.04.15 : Shalala Launches healthfinder Web Site; Improves Consumer Access to Health Info

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Date: Tuesday, April 15, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Damon Thompson (202) 205-1842

Shalala Launches healthfinder Web Site; Improves Consumer Access to Health Info

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala today launched healthfinder, a new government gateway site on the Internet that will make it much easier for most Americans to find health information on the World Wide Web. The Internet address for healthfinder is <www.healthfinder.gov>.

Shalala, joined via video by Vice President Gore, launched the web site at the opening session of the Partnerships For Networked Consumer Health Information '97 Conference in Washington.

"With healthfinder, we're helping people get reliable health information, faster and easier, over the Internet," Shalala said. "We're covering a wide range of information, and we're providing information that people can trust."

She said healthfinder can lead people to information that addresses not only the leading causes of death, like heart disease and cancer, but also the problems behind them -- like smoking, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and substance abuse.

"We hear a lot about how managed care is changing our health care system," Gore told the conference attendees. "What we don't hear is how the consumers themselves are changing it. More and more, they are turning to the Internet to get the health-related information they need. Healthfinder will provide the public with easier access to more quality federal consumer health information than is available now from any single source on the World Wide Web."

Healthfinder brings together under one umbrella the broad range of consumer health information resources produced by the federal government and its many partners. Its current resources include:

Hyperlinks to more than 550 Web sites, including more than 200 federal sites and 350 state, local, not-for-profit, university and other consumer health resources;
Links to nearly 500 selected online documents;
Links to FAQs (frequently asked questions) on top health issues of concern to the American public;
Links to databases and web search engines by topic and agency; and
Graphical and text versions to accommodate all users. Healthfinder combats "information overload" and endless searches by organizing these resources in a subject index, allowing consumers to quickly locate the health information they want. Future plans for the site include a full-text index, health risk appraisals, and expanded publication ordering. Collaborations with public and private sector organizations, such as public and medical libraries, will expand healthfinder's reach to those who do not have personal Internet access.
Healthfinder was developed by HHS' Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) in collaboration with many other agencies.

Note: HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: www.hhs.gov.