Web-based resources for retrieving health policy information: NLM and beyond

This paper identifies Web-based resources of interest to the health policy community. Both information useful for developing health policy and information about existing health policy are included. Resources described are classified into three major categories: traditional and grey literature, statistical and epidemiological data, and legal and legislative material. National Library of Medicine (NLM) resources include MEDLINE, DIRLINE, HealthSTAR, HSRProj, and HSTAT. In addition, NLM's National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR) has a Web page (http:/(/)www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/nichsr.++ +html) that provides an extensive listing of health-policy-related Web sites. Some of the other resources highlighted include those available from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Committee for Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), and the Library of Congress.