The more you know about your medical conditions and health in general, the better your chances to live to 100. Studies show that consumers who are knowledgeable about their conditions, the care they’re receiving, and the options available to them get better medical results.

Here’s what to do to keep on top of the trends and developments that can affect your health.

· Use the Internet.

No time to go to a medical library? Hundreds of thousands of consumers use the government’s National Library of Medicine search service to access the 9 million citations in the periodicals database called MEDLINE. The Web page address is www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/.

While on the Web, cheek out chat groups focusing on the condition or issue that interests you. For example, women who have had breast cancer maintain several chat groups where they share information, answer each other’s questions, and refer people to other sites and resources.

· Get a book.

Books can’t keep current on weekly advances in medicine, but they are good foundations for basic health information. Look for ones published by major medical institutions such as Columbia University or the Mayo Clinic. The Merck Manual of Medical Information—Home Edition* is a top-rated consumer guide to major health conditions. You can also rely on the more than 80 books written or published by the People’s Medical Society. These books range from titles such as Take This Book to the Hospital With You* (an in-depth consumer guide to surviving a hospital stay) to Prostate: Questions You Have . . . Answers You Need.**

· Use your pharmacy as a resource.

By law, pharmacists are now required to privately counsel you about your prescription if you request it. They should also provide printed information about each prescription.

· Call reputable organizations.

Federal and state organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments, some physician trade organizations, and organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association provide consumer-oriented resource materials.

· Understand medical studies.

Medical researchers are constantly finding new and exciting ways to improve human health, but each completed study is only a part of the picture and rarely has a final, definitive answer to complex medical questions. Rather than relying on news reports of health studies, if you’re really interested in a subject or condition, look at the study itself. How can you get the most from such a reading? Study the brief summary of findings generally published at the beginning of a study. Then go directly to the end of the study to the section often labeled “conclusion” or “discussion of findings.” Once you’ve concluded your research—including perhaps taking a look at some of the references listed at the end of the study—take the information you’ve found to the doctors or caregivers who are treating you. Hopefully, this will initiate a productive and educational conversation with them.

A word to the wise: Make sure you know the validity of the source of the study and the journal or publication in which it appears. Obviously studies from well-known universities or in publications such as the Journal of the American Medical Association or the New England Journal of Medicine are among the most reputable.