MedHelp
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| MedHelp International | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 1994 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, FL, USA |
| Industry | Healthcare |
| Website | http://www.medhelp.org/ |
MedHelp.org is a web resource for people seeking health information, advice and support online from medical professionals and other patients. MedHelp.org partners with doctors from hospitals and medical research institutions like Partners HealthCare, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, National Jewish Medical & Research Center, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, University of South Florida Health Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, to deliver discussion boards on healthcare topics. Users (patients and doctors) post their questions and answers on over 70 forums including Addiction, Allergy, Cancer, Cosmetic Surgery, Dental, Dermatology, Disaster Preparedness, Ear Nose & Throat, Fitness, Gastroenterology, Heart, Hepatitis, HIV, Neurology, Orthopedics, Pain Management, STD, Weight Loss, Women's Health and Urology.
MedHelp.org was founded in February 1994 and pioneered the field of consumer health information on the Internet, before WebMD or even Yahoo!. Today it has over 2.5 million unique visitors monthly and, in March 2007, MedHelp.org was ranked 8,935 in the Alexa Internet 3 month traffic rankings of all sites on the web.
[edit] History
The founders of MedHelp, Cindy Thompson and Phil Garfinkel, met in December of 1993, while conducting research in CompuServe's Med-Sig Forum. Both had family members involved with life threatening illnesses and discussed the difficulties they encountered in obtaining medical information in lay terminology. Cindy mentioned that one of her dreams was to create a service where patients would be able to contact leading physicians and scientists, who could answer specific questions, in lay terminology, regarding their diagnoses. Based on that vision, the MedHelp website was launched in 1994.
[edit] Sources
- Wall Street Journal, A Guide to Some of the Internet's Best -- And Most Overlooked -- Health Sites, By Tara Parker-Pope; Eastern edition; Jul 6, 2004; D.1;
- Wall Street Journal, Can't Get In to See That Famed M.D.? Top Docs Now Keep Office Hours Online, By Tara Parker-Pope; The Wall Street Journal; Eastern edition; Jan 7, 2003; D.1;
- Wall Street Journal, Finding Someone Who Feels Your Pain: Matching Services Connect Sick Patients, By Tara Parker-Pope; The Wall Street Journal; Eastern edition; Dec 17, 2002; D.1;
- US Dept. of State’s Global Issues Magazine, Med Help International: Where There's a Doctor on the Web, November 2000
- Time Magazine, A Web of Deceit, By Christine Gorman, Health Editor, Monday, Feb. 08, 1999
