"Pulmonologychannel.com provides a physician developed and monitored resource from which patients can learn more about their respiratory conditions," said Dr. Stanley J. Swierzewski III, founder and CEO of Healthcommunities.com. "Patients and their families can chat online with other patients who may have the same conditions and with board-certified pulmonologists and critical care specialists who can answer questions about treatments, symptoms, complications and other concerns related to their illnesses."

Dr. Harvey A.J. Hopkins, a board-certified pulmonologist, critical care specialist, and the pulmonologychannel.com channel leader, explains the site's popularity among his peers and patients. "I've found that when patients and families go online and research their condition or diagnosis, they come to the office with information and insightful questions about treatments for their condition. In most cases, they're more willing to participate in treatment decisions, which makes their recovery and my efforts even more successful."

Dr. Swierzewski added, "We are adding pulmonologists from across the country to the Healthcommunities.com PulmonologySite program." The program includes Web site design and unlimited support and maintenance at no cost to the physician. PulmonologySite provides patients and prospective patients information about a physician's educational background and credentials, as well as about practice information such as office location, hours of operation and additional patient education resources.

Healthcommunities.com has eleven medical specialty Web channels, including oncologychannel.com, neurologychannel.com, and urologychannel.com. The content for each channel is developed and monitored by medical specialists, and provides information and resources that help patients learn more about their conditions. The physician member sites, together with the medical specialty channels, create a rich network of health information, health care consumers and health care providers.

The company plans to launch at least 15 more specialty channels including familypracticechannel.com, kidshealthchannel.com, painchannel.com, HIVchannel.com, orthopedicchannel.com, and mentalhealthchannel.net.

Healthcommunities.com, Inc. a privately held company founded in 1998, provides innovative online resources for health care consumers and professionals. The company's medical specialty Web channels, in partnership with leading pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, serve health care consumers searching for reliable information. Healthcommunities.com is a Physician Developed and Monitored online community providing medical information and resources in a trusted environment.