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Medical queries answered

DUBAI — If you have a medical question and you do not know which expert to turn to, then gulfMD.com could be the answer.

“This is only health portal of its kind in the UAE,” says K Prasanth who set up the web site with the help of his wife in 2000. “We wanted to develop an informative web site on medical problems after realising that several people are confused as to which doctor to consult for their problem,” he said, adding that since its establishment, the website has had over a million hits.

The web site, which is supported by over 50 UAE-based doctors and several hospitals, does not offer consultations; it only offers suggestions to the patients visiting it.

It also lists the names and numbers of doctors, hospitals and medical centres that come in handy. “On several occasions, people have doubts or are shy of talking to doctors about certain issues, the web site is a means to clear doubts,” explains Prasanth.

He says that normally doctors reply within a week at the latest. “But because all doctors involved in the site are offering their services free of charge, the replies could even be delayed depending on their schedules,” he noted.

People can ask questions from experts and specialists on several topics and issues including dentistry, cardiology, general medicine, endocrinology, gynaecology and neurology.

The web site also publishes health-related articles for all ages, emergency numbers, A-Z disease list and first aid information. It has related links to important web sites including the New England Journal of Medicine, archives of international medicine and the Lancet. It also has links to ayurveda, yoga and homeopathy.

“We hope the medical information that gulfMD.com provides will help consumers communicate more effectively with their healthcare practitioners and as a result, understand more completely their situations and choices,” added Prasanth.

• UAE