Resources

Elder Care & Nursing Home Resources
  • Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents
    A nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and improving the quality of care and life for Arkansas residents in long-term care facilities.
  • Arkansas Office of Long Term Care
    The Office of Long Term Care conducts investigations of complaints in which abuse or neglect of residents, or misappropriation of resident property, is witnessed, suspected, or alleged in long-term care facilities. Complaint information is kept confidential.
  • Arkansas Attorney General Abuse and Neglect Complaint
    One mission of the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office is to investigate and prosecute Medicaid provider fraud and incidences of patient abuse and neglect.
  • LTCFocUS.Org
    Provides data on nursing home care in the US with a goal to allow researchers to trace relationships between state policies, local market forces and the quality of long-term care and enable policymakers to craft state and local guidelines that promote high-quality, cost-effective, equitable care for older Americans.
  • Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services
    This is an excellent site hosted by the United States Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The "Nursing Home Compare" feature assists you in evaluating the quality of care at any nursing home that accepts Medicare payments. 
  • Medicare Rights Center
    Understanding Medicare is no simple task. The Medicare Rights Center works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling, educational programs and public policy initiatives.
  • Center for Medicare Advocacy
    The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. is a national non‑profit, non-partisan organization that provides education, advocacy, and legal assistance to help elders and people with disabilities obtain Medicare and necessary health care.
  • National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
    Formerly the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, NCCNHR is a national nonprofit organization of consumers and advocates who define and achieve quality for people with long-term care needs.
  • AARP
    AARP is a national nonprofit organization that promotes and protects the rights of senior citizens.
  • National Senior Citizens Law Center
    The National Senior Citizens Law Center advocates before the courts, Congress and federal agencies to promote the independence and well-being of low-income elderly and disabled Americans.
  • National Nursing Home Watch List by State
    Nursing homes with recent survey violations or substantiated complaints for "actual harm" or immediate jeopardy."
  • How to Select a Nursing Home
    A reference and checklist for the potential nursing home resident and his or her family.
  • Federal Nursing Home Regulations
    A listing of federal regulations that govern nursing homes.
  • State Nursing Home Regulations by State
    A listing of state regulations that govern nursing homes.
  • The Merck Manual of Geriatrics
    A resource for medical conditions affecting geriatric patients.
  • American Medical Directors Association
    AMDA has published Clinical Practice Guidelines specifically for use in long-term care settings.
Legal Resources Medical Malpractice Research Tips
  • Standards of medical practice
    A key issue in medical malpractice cases is whether the health care provider met accepted standards in his or her treatment of the patient. The National Guideline Clearinghouse is a government-sponsored research tool that allows one to search for the medical care guidelines and standards of care that are specific to a variety of diseases, conditions and treatments. Patients can search for guidelines by disease, type of treatment, or medical organization.
  • Medical Literature Online
    The National Institute of Health's PubMed is a huge, easy to use database of information on nearly all of the medical journal articles written in the past 40 years. Users can search by keyword, author, and journal title. Most of the articles found provide free summaries of their content, and some link to free online versions of the full article.
  • Research a Physician
    There are many ways to get information about a physician, including whether he or she has been subject to previous lawsuits or disciplinary actions for medical malpractice.
    • AMA Doctor-Finder
      The American Medical Association's Doctor-Finder lists background information including doctors' specialties, education, and board certification.
    • HealthGrades.com
      HealthGrades.com, Inc., offers extensive report cards on doctors, hospitals, health plans and nursing homes nationwide (the reports cost between $3-7). State and national disciplinary actions are listed along with other background information.
    • Arkansas State Medical Board
      The Arkansas State Medical Board has government licensing board information on specific doctors in Arkansas.
    • Questionable Doctors
      Public Citizen's Questionable Doctors database allows you to search for disciplinary action records for doctors in 42 states, including Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The search is free, though the reports are sold at the price of $30 for 10 reports.
    • Questionable Therapies
      Quackwatch, run by Dr. Stephen Barrett, helps patients examine and debunk questionable medical therapies from acupuncture to wild yam cream.
Medication Safety Websites

12 Common Medication Errors

Hospital Errors Research Tips
  • Health Grades, Inc
    Hospital, doctor, and nursing home ratings.

  • A report from the National Academy of Sciences estimated that up to 100,000 Americans die every year from preventable errors in hospitals: more than AIDS, breast cancer or motor vehicle accidents.

Auto, Truck and Motorcycle Accidents Research Tips
  • Research car safety ratings and accident information:
  • Defective and Dangerous Products Research Tips