Multimedia resources for medical and patient education are becoming more widely available. MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, is a trusted source of freely accessible consumer health and drug information. It’s also a leader in providing high-quality illustrations and videos for patient education. If you prefer to get health information from videos, tutorials, calculators, quizzes and games, the new Videos & Cool Tools is for you.
Videos & Cool Tools features three video collections: “Interactive Tutorials,” “Anatomy Videos,” and “Surgery Videos.” All videos and narrated tutorials are organized by topic and are also embedded in associated articles throughout MedlinePlus.
Interactive Tutorials
These easy-to-use, hands-on tutorials are arranged by diseases, tests and diagnostic procedures, surgery and treatment procedures, and prevention and wellness topics. Among the many tutorials you can choose from are “Heart Attack,” “Arthroscopic Surgery for Shoulders,” and “Back Exercises.” Each interactive tutorial includes animated graphics, audio, and easy-to-read language.
Health Calculators and Quizzes
If you want to know how healthy you are, or where you might need to make improvements, try one of the health calculators or quizzes. Examples include the “Alcohol Calorie Calculator,” “Calculate Your Body Mass Index,” and “Risk Assessment Tool for Estimating Your 10-Year Risk of Having a Heart Attack.”
Anatomy Videos
The anatomy videos demonstrate how diseases and conditions can affect various parts of the body. You can watch videos on a wide array of topics from “Blinking” to “Ovulation” to “Snoring.”
Surgery Videos
The surgery videos are a licensed collection of over 120 videos of surgical procedures filmed at hospitals across the United States. It’s organized primarily by body system, and cross-indexed to more specific areas of interest, such as “Cancer” and “Child and Teen Health.”
Videos & Cool Tools also offers easy-to-use tutorials on understanding medical words and evaluating health information. For anyone seeking reliable health information, Videos & Cool Tools can help.
~ Andrea Ketchum