The USGovXML.com HealthGuide is a web based application that helps the user learn more about a medical condition or illness and helps them locate resources that might be able to provide assistance. The application provides information about: Clinical trials Dialysis facilities Drugs used to treat AIDS/HIV FDA drug labels Health topics Hospitals Medical equipment suppliers Medicare certified home health agencies Nearby health centers Non government, health organizations The information provided by the application is obtained from publically available web services and data bases provided by the National Library of Medicine and other agencies within the US Department of Health and Human Services. The data sources used by the application are shown in the following table:
Data Source
Description
AIDSInfo Drug API
The AIDSinfo Drug API (http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/Other/rss.aspx ) offers access to the latest, federally approved HIV/AIDS medical practice guidelines, information on HIV/AIDS treatment, clinical trials, and other HIV/AIDS-related research information for health care providers, researchers, people affected by HIV/AIDS, and the general public. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=AIDSINFO
ClinicalTrials.gov
ClinicalTrials.gov (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ ) is a registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in theUnited States and around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov provides information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=CTRIAL
DailyMed
DailyMed (http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov ) provides high quality information about marketed drugs. This information includes FDA approved labels (package inserts). DailyMed provides health information providers and the public with a standard, comprehensive, up-to-date resource of medication content and labeling as found in medication package inserts. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=DMED
Dialysis Facility Compare
The Dialysis Facility database (http://www.medicare.gov/Dialysis/Include/DataSection/Questions/SearchCriteria.asp?version=default&browser=IE%7C8%7CWinXP&language=English&defaultstatus=0&pagelist=Home ) contains information about dialysis facilities.
DIRLINE Web Service API
The DIRLINE Web Service API (http://dirline.nlm.nih.gov/dirlineapi/DIRLINEWebService.html ) a RESTful Web Service API that allows users to search the DIRLINE database with keywords. The DIRLINE database is a directory of health organizations. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=DIRLINE
Helpful Contacts
The Helpful Contacts database (http://www.medicare.gov/Contacts/Default.aspx ) contains contact information for organizations that can help address some Medicare related issues.
HGDW Data Service
The HGDW Data Service (http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/ ) is a SOAP/HTTP web service that provides the ability to query the HGDW data warehouse for health centers in and around a specific geographic area. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=HGDW
Home Health Compare
The Home Health Compare database (http://www.medicare.gov/homehealthcompare/search.aspx ) has detailed information about Medicare-certified home health agencies.
Hospital Compare
The Hospital Compare database ( http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ ) contains detailed information about hospitals.
Medicare Supplier Directory
The Medicare Supplier Directory database (http://www.medicare.gov/Supplier/Include/DataSection/Questions/SearchCriteria.asp?version=default&browser=IE%7C8%7CWinXP&language=English&defaultstatus=0&pagelist=Home&CookiesEnabledStatus=True ) contains information about medical equipment suppliers.
MedlinePlus Web Service
The MedlinePlus Web Service (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/webservices.html ) provides a keyword search capability of MedlinePlus health topic data. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=MEDLINE
MedlinePlus Connect Web Service
The MedlinePlus Connect Web Service (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/connect/service.html ) is a free service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which allows health organizations and health IT providers to link patient portals and electronic health record (EHR) systems to MedlinePlus, an authoritative up-to-date health information resource for patients, families, and health care providers. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=MLPCONNECT
UMLS Terminology Services Web Services
The UMLS Terminology Services Web Services (https://uts.nlm.nih.gov/home.html ) provides programmatic access to the features and capabilities of the UMLS. The UMLS, or Unified Medical Language System (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/index.html ), is a set of files and software that brings together many health and biomedical vocabularies and standards to enable interoperability between computer systems. http://usgovxml.com/DataService.aspx?ds=UMLSWS
Many of these data sources are accessed remotely. However, some are downloaded and accessed locally. The application consists of twelve screens as shown in the following table:
Screen
Purpose
AIDSInfo
Provides the ability to search for detail information about drugs used to treat AIDS.
Clinical Trials
Provides the ability to search for clinical trials based on a keyword(s) or search phrase(s). Trials found to match the search criteria are linked to more detailed information at ClinicalTrials.gov.
Dialysis Facilities
Provides the ability to search for dialysis facilities based on their location (i.e. city/state or zip code).
FDA Drug Labels
Provides the ability to search for and display FDA Drug Labels based on a keyword(s) or search phrase(s). The content of the labels is a comprehensive, up-to-date resource of medication content and labeling as found in medication package inserts.
Health Centers
Provides the ability to search for federally funded health centers based on zip code. Federally funded health centers receive a significant portion of their funding from the federal government and bases its fees on the patient’s ability to pay.
Health Organizations
Provides the ability to search for health organizations based on a keyword (i.e. disease) or a search phrase.
Helpful Contacts
Provides the ability to search for organizations by state and topic of interest.
Home Health Agencies
Provides the ability to search for and compare Medicare-certified home health agencies based on the services they provide as well as their service areas (i.e. zip code).
Hospitals
Provides the ability to search for and compare hospitals based on state, county and state or by city and state.
Medical Equipment Suppliers
Provides the ability to search for medical equipment suppliers under the Medicare program based on the products they provide as well as their location (i.e. city/state or zip code).
MedlinePlus Health Topics
Provides the ability to search for MedlinePlus health topic data based on a keyword(s), search phrase(s), drug name, problem code or lab test code. Topics found to match the search criteria are linked to more detailed information at MedlinePlus.gov.
Setup
Allows the user to enter the disease or medical condition, location (i.e. city, state, county) and email address.
One click email service is available from each screen so that the information currently being displayed can be emailed to the user.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.