Subject: A Guide to Health-Related Usenet Newsgroups
From: [email-masked] (Peter Kaminski)
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1993 00:13:53 GMT
Newsgroups: news.groups,sci.med,misc.health.alternative,talk.politics.medicine

Archive-name: health-related-newsgroups
Last-modified: 1993/03/24
Version: HLTH-G01.TXT

Copyright 1993 Peter Kaminski.  Freely redistributable if intact with
this notice.  Additional notices at the end of this document.

[Third draft.  Periodic posting (and submission to appropriate *.answers
groups) will probably start with next edition.  Comments welcome...]

First, some important cautions about health-related messages on Usenet:

  Asking questions or reading messages on Usenet cannot substitute
  for seeing your doctor.  If you are ill, or seriously concerned
  about a medical problem, get in touch with your doctor or other
  qualified, licensed health care practitioner.

  Remember that anyone can post anything to Usenet.  Messages are NOT
  checked or verified for accuracy or validity by ANYONE before being
  automatically distributed to readers.  Even messages which appear
  authoritative may include information that is OUTDATED or
  COMPLETELY WRONG.  Take *ALL* Usenet messages with a grain of salt.

  Before doing or not doing anything because of a message posted to
  Usenet, VERIFY THE INFORMATION IN IT with a reliable source, such
  as your personal doctor or other health care professional.

  Don't fool around with your health!

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From: Health Newsgroups
Subject: OVERVIEW: Main Health And Medicine Newsgroups

(There are expanded descriptions and a guide to these newsgroups below,
under subject "Expanded Guide To Main Health And Medicine Newsgroups".)

alt.med.cfs              Chronic fatigue syndrome information.
misc.health.alternative  Alternative, complementary and holistic health care.
sci.med                  General discussion of medicine.
sci.med.aids             AIDS/HIV: prevention, treatment, pathology/biology.
sci.med.dentistry        Dentally related topics; all about teeth.
sci.med.nutrition        Physiological impacts of diet.
sci.med.occupational     Occupational/workplace health and/or injuries.
sci.med.physics          Issues of physics in medical testing/care.
talk.politics.medicine   The politics and ethics involved with health care.

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From: Health Newsgroups
Subject: Newsgroups Under Formal Consideration For Creation

PROPOSAL                         RFD             CFV           VOTE END
misc.health.diabetes             4 Mar
sci.med.telemedicine            14 Jan          23 Feb          25 Mar

For more information see this post:

>Subject: Current Status of USENET Newsgroup Proposals
>Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups
>From: [email-masked] (David C Lawrence)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Health Newsgroups
Subject: Other Newsgroups With Health And Medicine Related Traffic

Along with their main topics, certain specific health-related topics
are discussed in these groups as well.  Check the etiquette for each
group before posting or crossposting to these newsgroups.

alt.psychoactives           Psychoactive drugs.
alt.recovery                Recovery programs (e.g., AA, ACA, GA).
alt.sex                     Human sexuality.
alt.sexual.abuse.recovery   Helping others deal with traumatic experiences.
alt.support                 Dealing with emotional situations & experiences.
alt.support.big-folks       For big folks.
alt.support.cancer          Support mechanism for those dealing with cancer.
alt.support.diet            Seeking enlightenment through weight loss.
alt.support.mult-sclerosis  Discussion group for people affected by MS.
misc.emerg-services         Forum for paramedics and other first responders.
misc.handicap               Disability issues.
misc.kids                   Pediatrics, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding.
misc.fitness                Physical fitness, exercise, etc.
rec.arts.bodyarts           Tattoos, piercing.
rec.food.veg                Vegetarianism.
sci.skeptic                 Skeptical discussion of fringe health care.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Health Newsgroups
Subject: Expanded Guide To Main Health And Medicine Newsgroups

The descriptions in this section are subject to change as Usenet and
the health-related newsgroups evolve.  In particular, I'd like to see
more newsgroups for general health discussions in misc.health.*, which
would shift the less technical discussions out of sci.med.  That way
there'd be more space for general discussion in misc.health.*, and more
efficient use of the professionals' time in sci.med.

sci.med:

    General discussion or questions about health and medicine go in
    sci.med.  This is where the doctors and other knowledgable posters
    hang out, and they're quite helpful.  Keep in mind that sci.med is
    technically supposed to be about the *science* of medicine, and
    that off-topic chatter is inappropriate.  Don't be shy about
    asking questions, but extended discussions that can be held
    elsewhere don't belong here.

sci.med.aids:

    AIDS/HIV: prevention, treatment, pathology/biology.

sci.med.dentistry:

    Dentistry, teeth, fillings, amalgam.

sci.med.nutrition:

    Diet, nutrition, vitamins, minerals, etc.

sci.med.occupational:

    Preventing, detecting & treating occupational/workplace injuries.
    Topics include carpal tunnel syndrome, miscarriages, back
    problems, etc.

sci.med.physics:

    Physics in medicine.

misc.health.alternative:

    Alternative, complementary, and holistic health, including health
    care and therapies which are not generally accepted by
    conventional Western medicine, such as acupuncture, ayurveda,
    chiropractic, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), etc.

talk.politics.medicine:

    Politics, national medical policy, health insurance, medical ethics.

alt.med.cfs:

    Discussion, information, and support for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    and other possibly related topics, including fibromyalgia, Lyme
    disease, and environmental allergies.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Health Newsgroups
Subject: Net Health Resources; How To Get This And Other Guides

This guide is [will be] posted regularly to news.groups, sci.med,
misc.health.alternative, and talk.politics.medicine [crosspost list
open to discussion].

The current version is also available via email or FTP:

  By email: send a message containing "Send Health-Related-Newsgroups"
  to <[email-masked]>.

  By anonymous FTP from ftp.netcom.com [192.100.81.100]:
  /pub/info-deli/usenet/health-related-newsgroups

If you're interested in the health-related Usenet newsgroups, there
are probably health-related mailing lists that would interest you as
well.  An excellent and quite comprehensive guide to mailing lists and
other health resources available over the 'net is the "Internet/Bitnet
Health Sciences Resource List", compiled by Lee Hancock, University of
Kansas Medical Center.

  By anonymous FTP from ftp.sura.net [128.167.254.179]:
  /pub/nic/medical.resources.xxx, where xxx is the date of the release.

  Also available online on some gopher sites.

------------------------------

From: Health Newsgroups
Subject: Epilogue And Notices

This document may be distributed in its entirety by any means, and a
fee may be charged for its distribution, but it may not be sold
without prior permission from Peter Kaminski <[email-masked]>.

I make no representations about the suitability or accuracy of this
document for any purpose.  It is provided "as is" without express or
implied warranty.

Additions and corrections to this guide are welcome; send them to
<[email-masked]> or <[email-masked]>.

-- 
Peter Kaminski
[email-masked]
[email-masked]

------------------------------

End of Guide
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