DOCTORS ONLINE

There are some Doctors and Health Professionals on the internet that will respond to health and medical questions. These responses are meant to educate the questioner and the public and should not be considered a method of rendering personal medical care. Occassionally, a response might be answered directly by email, but usually the answers will be posted on a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page or a bulletin board type forum. By archiving the questions and answers, everyone can search, view, and therefore, benefit from the information. There are also a few live question and answer chat sessions. If you can't make the scheduled chat time, then at many of the sites you can post your question ahead of time and return later to view the transcripts of the chat and see if your question was answered. During the live discussion sessions, you will usually ask your question through a moderator and whether or not your question gets answered by the doctor or health expert depends on the number of participants and their questions.

For a weekly listing of "live question and answer chat sessions" with doctors or health experts visit the Weekday Chat Schedule page.

Listed below are a number of places on the internet where you can submit a question to a doctor, usually by posting at the site or by sending an email:

• America's Doctors -
  This site provides live, real-time, one on one chats with physicians 24 hours a day, plus regular scheduled chats with physicians on various health topics. For the free one-on-one talk with a doctor just click "Talk To A Doctor Now". You have to accept a disclaimer and there might be a waiting list of people ahead of you, but you can browse their site and you shouldn't have to wait more than 5-10 minutes to talk with a physician. You do need to have your question ready, as you will have to ask it ahead of time.
• Dr. Paula's Messaging Forum -
  Pediatrician Dr. Paula M. Elbirt has a website called DrPaula in which she offers free online answers to all pediatric and parenting questions. You can post questions to her Message Forum and a doctor will reply to your question on the forum.
• Ask Dr. Kiley -
  Linda A. Kiley, M.D., is a Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist who has a website for "general education purposes only" and will respond by posting (anonymously) the questions and answers on her website. Previous questions and answers are archived and listed on the left of the page under Ask Dr. Kiley.
• Sinusitis, Allergy, and Asthma -
  Wellington S. Tichenor, M.D. has a website that "explores the symptoms and treatment of sinusitis, and other sinus diseases, as well as the interrelated problems of allergy and asthma." Many questions have already been answered and posted on the website; however, new questions will be answered as feasible.
• Ask the Doctors -
  Medical questions go to a panel of qualified professionals in 23 countries.
• Endocrinology Home Page -
  "All interesting mail submitted to the site is answered as time permits" by Endocrinologists. Click "Reader Mailbag" to read the answer questions and click "Write Us with a Medical Question" in order to send your question via email.
• IRMVS - Ask the Docs -
  The Institute For Reparative Medicine and Vascular Surgery is a vascular surgery clinic. They specialize in the diseases of arteries and veins. Their surgeons answer the email, and try to respond within a couple of days.
• Ask Dr. Dave -
  Visit the Refractory Surgery Patient Resource Center to ask questions and to become informed about this type of surgery.
• Ask the Experts -
  Dr Jeremy Sims of England will answer your questions, discuss health issues and dispense advice. Also answering questions is Helen Knox, author of Sexplained, and a clinical nurse specialist in family planning and sexual health.
• Ask a Neurosurgeon -
  You can email questions about a predesignated specific neurosurgical disorder or procedure each month and a board certified neurosurgeon will answer the most frequently asked questions. Both the questions and the answers are posted.
• The Health Network -
  America's Health Network, television's first and only source for around-the-clock health and medical information now has an online site where you can participate in regular scheduled chats with Doctors.
• Ask the Doctor -
  Dr. Robert Rutledge "will try to answer your questions on Laparoscopic Surgery for Obesity as well as on other questions related to obesity and general surgery". For information about diet and obesity visit the main page of The University of North Carolina's Center for Laparoscopic Obesity Surgery.
• The Doctors Are In -
  Health Philadelphia has archives of previous answered questions in the areas of dentistry, diet drug questions, and heart disease questions. You can currently ask questions of the following doctors:
  Sports Medicine forum with Michael Ciccotti, M.D., chief of the division of Sports Medicine at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
  Women's Health forum with Dr. David Toub of Pennsylvania Hospital.
• Ask the Doctor -
  They have "nurses and physicians available to answer your questions on any and all health related topics that are important to you". Includes archives of "Ask a Doctor" columns.
• Ask a Woman Doctor -
  Dr. Karen Sarpolis will answer some questions and all answers are viewable.
• Ask Dr. Plain Talk -
  The primary editor of the site is Dr. Plain Talk, a pediatrician with over 20 years experience.
• Kim A. Carmichael, M.D., FACP, -
  Dr. Kim Carmichael is a board-certified endocrinologist on the clinical faculty at St. Louis University School of Medicine. Dr. Carmichael is an expert in general endocrinology, with special interests in osteoporosis and in the medical complications of eating disorders. If you have a question in these areas you can contact her via email: Dr. Carmichael. Please visit her Web site pages, starting at: Deaconess Medical Education .
• Ask-the-Doc -
  Al Davies, M.D., Board Certified, Critical Care Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Endocrinology and Metabolism, "will endeavor to answer all" inquiries for free, if a "rapid" response is needed there will be a charge of $10. Send email to: drdavies@mediscene.com . Dr. Davis has an extensive Patient Response Section which lists selected responses to inquiries according to topic.
• Neurology Homepage -
  Enrique Botia, MD, is a neurologist in Spain who will answer questions about Neurology in English or Spanish. You can visit his homepage and his Neurology Questions page.
• Filipino Internist on the Internet -
  Dindo Ferdinand C. Santos, MD, has a home page and might help others who need information about their ailments through e-mail. Included is a monthly series section called the doctor is in to understand signs, symptoms and common diseases.
• "Ask Asthma Doc" -
  Paul Ehrlich, M.D., an allergist, immunologist, and pediatrician, is associate chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at New Yorkâs Beth Israel Medical Center and associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. He maintains a private practice in New York City and spends most of his time as an allergist for children and adults. You can ask a question about asthma or allergies or view the doctor's archive of previous responses.
• "Ask Psych Doc" -
  Dr. Arnold Lieber has been practicing psychiatry for over 30 years. He has a special interest in the treatment of depression and geriatric conditions. The site includes an archived list of responses.
• "Ask the Dietitian" -
  Joanne Larsen MS RD LD, reads all of her email, but due to the volume of mail she receives, cannot answer all questions personally. Previous responses are archived for the viewer to read.
• Parents Place -
  This site has several experts that will answer questions, including: "Ask the Doctor", Robert W. Steele, M.D., is a board certified pediatrician at St. John's Regional Health Center in Springfield, MO. Other resources include: "Ask the Dentist" (Kimberly A. Loos, D.D.S.), "Ask the Midwife" (Peg Plumbo, RN, MS, CNM), "Ask the Lactation Consultant" (Debbi Donovan, IBCLC), "Ask the Nutritionist" (Sue Gilbert), "Male Infertility" Philip Werthman, MD, and "Ask The Family Counselor"Gayle Peterson, Ph.D. MSSW. Extensive archives are available for the different areas.
• "Ask Dr. Reinberg" -
  Dr. Reinberg is a board certified pediatric urologist and will answer questions via email.
• Ask the Mayo Physician -
  Kenneth G. Berge, M.D., Associate Medical Editor of Mayo Health O@sis, and colleagues answer your questions and include an archive of previous responses.
• Ask the Sleep Doc -
  Visitors can ask questions on various sleep subjects by sending email to Yatin J. Patel, M.D..
• Ask The Experts -
  The editors of MedicineNet have organized "Ask The Experts" into specialty departments, where you can view answers or ask a question.
• Ask a Doc Forum -
  General questions about lupus can be asked and responses will be posted by Rheumatologists on staff at St. Louis University's School of Medicine and Hospital.
• Ask The Expert -
  Ask mental health questions of Ron Pies, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University and popular Psychiatric Times columnist. Dr. Pies posts his responses each Monday and all questions are archived.
• CyberPsychologist -
  This page has a question and answer forum provided by Robert F. Sarmiento, Ph.D.
• John Grohol, Psy.D. -
  Dr. Grohol is an online psychologist who has scheduled mental health chats several times a week.
• You can Ask the Pain Doctor -
  A question and obtain advice from a practicing pain professional. Most questions are answered and all answers are posted to the site.
• At John Hopkins' Ask the Doc -
  You can submit a question to a team of experts or review and search answers to the most frequently asked questions.
• Dr. Greene's HouseCalls -
  A place to ask pediatric questions and search responses to previous questions. During the week Dr. Alan Greene schedules a live question and answer chat session. The time varies each day, to access the chat and find out the current daily schedule visit Parent Soup.
• Ask the Doctor -
  This is provided by The American Academy of Ophthalmology and offers a way to ask questions each month on a particular disease, condition, procedure or safety measure that affects or protects the eyes. The most frequently asked questions are answered by an ophthalmologist and posted for everyone to view.Past topics available for viewing, include glaucoma, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, refractive surgery, PRK and learning disabilities.
• At DrugInfoNet's Ask the Experts -
  You can ask medical and drug related questions to physicians and pharmacists. Frequently asked questions and answers are posted on a FAQ page.
• At QuackWatch Home Page -
  Dr. Stephen Barrett will answer questions relating to consumer health.
• Ask Dr. Bill -
  Ask a question of Dr. Bill and your question might be chosen and the answer posted, in the meantime you can review previously answered questions.
• According to the Chronic Hepatitis Answering Page -
  "A team of experts from the Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Bologna, Italy is ready to reply to any question on epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of chronic liver diseases" by sending them an email.
• Neurologist Online -
  Neurologist Online will answers questions about neurological conditions including: migraine headache, backache, epilepsy, stroke, tia, parkinsonism, multiple sclerosis, myalgia. Also includes explanations of various neurological tests and medications.
• PharmInfoNet. -
  "PharmInfoNet works with a panel of medically-qualified consultants and patients who work with us in a variety of ways. Some experts volunteer or are paid to help us answer questions from readers and moderate our various email discussion groups".
• Ask the Cardiologist -
  Ask the Cardiologist is an interactive question and answer database supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc."
• Go Ask Alice -
  The Healthwise office, Health Education division of Columbia University Health Services is providing a site called "Go Ask Alice" where you can ask questions or read archived questions and answers.
• Ask a Woman Doctor -
  At this site you can click "submit a question to the forum" and they promised to answer all questions.
• Here's a couple of sites to try if you have pharmaceutical questions: Ask a Pharmacist, Ask a Pharmacist Homepage, and Ask the Pharmacist.
• Ask an Expert -
  Netwellness has a section where you can ask health care experts specific questions and also browse the questions and answers of other NetWellness users.
• Scuba Times Medical Center -
  This is a site where you can ask Scuba Times Online's diving doctors about your diving medical concerns.

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