When your health changes, your needs change. Sometimes these changes are welcome, as in the case of starting a family. Other times, you may be facing an acute illness, or trying to manage a chronic condition. New resources and tools to address these issues seem to appear every day, and this trend is likely to continue in the future.

However, patients and family caregivers aren’t just using the Web to find more information from doctors and drug companies. They’re using the Web to find communities of patients and caregivers like themselves. When patients and caregivers find each other, they can share information, advice, and support.

For family caregivers, the sharing features of some of these tools may provide an opportunity to stay aware of a loved one’s health even while away. For example, if your spouse has diabetes and uses a glucose monitor that uploads readings to the Internet, you can keep an eye on how he or she is doing with every measurement.

The list below contains just a fraction of the resources available to help individuals and families deal with common health concerns. The Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Government does not endorse any product, service or general policies of any non-Federal entity nor is responsible for the content of any individual organization’s material or web pages found at these links.

Below, learn more about:

• General condition specific resources
• Heart health and blood pressure resources
• Asthma and respiratory health resources
• Diabetes resources
• Smoking cessation resources
• Pregnancy and reproductive health resources
• Cancer resources
• Other resources related to specific conditions

General Condition-Specific Resources
General Disease Information	Mayo Clinic	Information about specific diseases from the Mayo Clinic.
Patient Communities While you probably put a lot of trust in the advice your doctor gives you, you might also think, "I wonder what other patients who have this same problem have done?" The web is a remarkable resource for people to share information, strategies for problem solving, and emotional support about their health concerns. These sites don't replace doctors, but they can help you exchange information about treatment options and experiences; disabling conditions; care facilities; dealing with complications; current research; and many other topics.	Mayo Clinic	Online communities focused on a number of conditions and treatments sponsored by the Mayo Clinic, but open to patients anywhere.
	Patients Like Me	Online communities covering a wide range of health conditions and treatments.
	National Organization for Rare Disease Online Communities	Online communities specifically focused on less common health conditions.
Heart Health and Blood Pressure
Personal Monitoring Devices (i.e. devices that measuure something about your pysical conditiona like your blood pressure or heart rate)	iHealth Blood Pressure Dock	Blood pressure cuff and monitor for iOS devices. Integrates with smart phone and tablet apps.
	Withings Blood Pressure Monitor	Blood pressure cuff and monitor for iOS devices. Integrates with smart phone and tablet apps, and can sync with some third-party personal health web sites.
	Heart360	American Heart Association-sponsored site offering several online tracking tools related to heart health.
	Thumpr	Interactive tool for creating a heart health action plan. Winner of the Surgeon General’s Healthy Apps Challenge.
	HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker	Blood pressure tracking software for smart phones.
Information Sites	HeartHub	Heart health information portal from the American Heart Association.
	Million Hearts	Heart health information portal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Asthma and Respiratory Health
Apps and Online Tools	Asthmapolis	Innovative applications and sensors to track triggers for asthma attacks.
	AsthmaMD	Smart phone based asthma management tools.
	AsthmaSense	Smart phone and Kindle-based asthma management tools.
Information Sites	NHLB Institute Lung Disease page	Public information page on lung health from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
	My Fighting For Health Community	Respiratory health information from the American Lung Association.
Diabetes
Personal Monitoring Devices	iBGStar	Blood glucose monitor that connects with iOS devices and integrates with management software.
	Telcare	Blood glucose monitor that uses cellular technology to automatically upload data to compatible web sites and apps.
Apps and Online Tools	Glucose Buddy	Online and smart phone connected diabetes management tools.
	dbees	Online and smart phone connected diabetes management tools.
	Txt4Health	Text based tools for diabetes management and health tips sponsored by American Diabetes Association, currently limited to pilot areas.
	BantApp	Smart phone based add for glucose and diet management. Integrates with HealthVault.
Information Sites	American Diabetes Association	Diabetes information from the American Diabetes Association.
Smoking Cessation
Apps and Online Tools	Freedom From Smoking	Online tools for quitting smoking from the American Lung Association
	LiveStrong.Org/My Quit Coach	Smart phone app offering support for quitting smoking
	SmokeFreeTXT (for young adults)	Text-based tools for quitting smoking aimed at young adults.
Information Sites	CDC Smoking and Health Page	Information about smoking and health from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Pregnancy and Reproductive Health
Apps and Online Tools	iPeriod	iOS-based menstration tracker.
	BabyBump Pregnancy	Smart phone based pregnancy tracker. Connects to online communities.
	iPregnancy	iOS-based pregnancy tracker.
	Text4Baby	Text-based service providing reminders and health tips timed to your pregnancy.
Information Sites	CDC Reproductive Health page	Portal for reproductive health information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cancer
Information Sites	LiveStrong	Resources and services for the cancer patient community
	American Cancer Society	Information portal from the American Cancer Society
	National Cancer Institute	Information portal from the U.S. Government-sponsored National Cancer Institute.
	Association of Cancer Resources	Collection of online communities related to specific types of cancer.
Apps	LiveStrong Cancer Guide and Tracker App	iPad app designed to help cancer patients easily find information related to their condition as well as store and track information related to their care.
Clinical Trials	Ask Dory	An interactive web site to help patients and caregivers find clinical trials near them related to a given type of cancer.
	My Cancer Genome	An interactive web site to help patients and caregivers find clinical trials related to particular genetic variant of a cancer type.
Information About Other Health Conditions
Sexual Health and Family Planning	CDC Sexual Health Page	Information portal about sexual health from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
	Planned Parenthood	Sexual health and family planning information for women and men.
HIV/AIDS	AIDS.gov	Portal compiling U.S. government resources related to HIV and AIDS.
	CDC HIV/AIDS Page	Portal page about HIV and AIDS from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health and Aging	AARP Health Page	Health information portal from the American Association of Retired Persons.
	Health in Aging	Health information portal from the American Geriatrics Society Foundation.
	CDC Health Aging Page	Portal page about aging and health from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
	Alzheimer.gov	Portal compiling U.S. government resources related to Alzheimer’s Disease.
	See also: Caregiver information
Substance Abuse and Mental Health	Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration	Portal compiling U.S. Government resources related to substance abuse and mental health issues.