- Some more reflections on Health 2.0 (The Health Care Blog)
- Healthline – Interview with the CEO – Health 2.0 (The Medical Quack)
- Health 2.0: Rules of Engagement (RWW)
- Health 2.0: Internet Déjà vu (PharmaExecBlog)
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- Going Digital: Introducing Mitzi Reaugh of NBC Digital Health Network (Crossover Health)
- Health 2.0 Demo Tips (Health Management Rx)
- 2020: A Financially Sustainable U.S. Health System (medinnovationblog)
- A review of Health Search Engine Patient Power (Alt Search Engines)
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Tens of thousands of Americans die every year from adverse prescription drug reactions — sometimes from an overdose, other times from an unexpected side effect, and often from taking the wrong combination of drugs. We have written before about the promise of Web sites like PharmaSurveyor and DoubleCheckMD, which help people to check the safety of their drug regimens. But making sure you are taking your drugs safely starts with having a proactive relationship with your doctor.
I came across a list of “rules” for safer prescription drug use by the non-profit consumer group Public Citizen, and found some useful ideas in it. I’ve summarized the tips in excerpts below. Go here for the full post.
1. Have “Brown Bag Sessions” with Your Primary Doctor.
Whenever you go to a doctor you have not previously seen or to one with whom you have never had a brown-bag session, gather all prescription and over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements in your medicine cabinet or anywhere else and bring them to the doctor … Doctors should never prescribe a drug or renew a prescription, nor should you be willing to get a new prescription, without full, up-to-date knowledge of all drugs already being taken or likely to be taken.
2. Make Sure Drug Therapy Is Really Needed.
Often, drugs are prescribed to treat situational problems such as loneliness, isolation, and confusion. Whenever possible, nondrug approaches to these problems should be tried. These include hobbies, socializing with others, and getting out of the house. When a person is suffering from an understandable depression after losing a loved one, for example, support from friends, relatives, or a psychotherapist is often preferable to drugs such as antidepressants. Nondrug therapy, such as weight loss and exercise, is preferable to drug therapy for such problems as mild high blood pressure and mild adult-onset diabetes. Drugs should rarely be prescribed for anxiety or difficulty sleeping, particularly in older adults…
3. If Drug Therapy Is Indicated, in Most Cases, Especially in Older Adults, It Is Safer to Start with a Dose That Is Lower Than the Usual Adult Dose.
More generally, start with as low a dose as possible. In other words, “Start low, go slow.” A lower dose will cause fewer adverse effects, which are almost always related to dose. In the elderly, some experts suggest starting with one-third to one-half the usual adult dose for most drugs and watching for side effects, increasing the dose slowly and only if necessary to get the desired effect.
4. When Adding a New Drug, See If It Is Possible to Discontinue Another Drug.
If your doctor is considering adding a new drug, this is an opportunity to reevaluate existing drugs and eliminate those that are not absolutely essential. The possibility of an adverse drug interaction between the new drug and one of the old ones may lead to discontinuing or changing the use of a drug.
5. Stopping a Drug Is as Important as Starting It.
At least every three to six months, regularly review with your doctor the need to continue each drug being taken. For many mind-affecting drugs, such as sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and antidepressants, and for antibiotics, this reevaluation should be more frequent and sooner. The prevailing principle for doctors and patients should be to discontinue any drug unless it is essential. Many adverse drug reactions have been caused by continuing to use drugs long after they are needed.
6. Find Out If You Are Having Any Adverse Drug Reactions.
If you develop [adverse] reactions after beginning to use any drug, contact your doctor. Ask if you really need a drug in the first place and, if you do, whether a safer drug can be substituted or whether a lower dose could be used to reduce or eliminate the adverse effect.
7. Assume That Any New Symptom You Develop After Starting a New Drug May Be Caused by the Drug.
If you have a new symptom, report it to your doctor.
8. Before Leaving Your Doctor’s Office or Pharmacy, Make Sure the Instructions for Taking Your Medicine Are Clear to You and a Family Member or Friend.
Regardless of how old someone is, the chance of adverse reactions is high enough that at least one other person (a spouse, child, or friend) should know about these possibilities. In the presence of such adverse reactions as confusion and memory loss, this is especially critical … Ask your doctor to make sure that the label on the drug states, if at all possible, the purpose for which the drug is being used. This is especially important when you are using multiple drugs but is always important as a way of increasing your and your family’s or friend’s participation.
9. Discard All Old Drugs Carefully.
Many people are tempted to keep and reuse drugs obtained in the past, even though their condition has changed. Additional drugs used may make the earlier drugs much more dangerous. In addition, you may be tempted to give drugs, such as antibiotics, to a friend or relative who you believe may benefit from them. Resist these temptations and avoid further problems caused by using outdated drugs by throwing them away when you are done with your course of therapy.
10. Ask Your Primary Doctor to Coordinate Your Care and Drug Use.
If you see a specialist and he or she wants to start you on new medicines in addition to the ones you are on, check with your primary doctor first; usually an internist or general or family practitioner. It is equally important to use one pharmacist, if possible.
- Health 2.0: Where do we go from here? (ICMCC)
- Health 2.0 is participatory. Are you ready? (My web 2.0 collection)
- Health 2.0: A Cautionary Note and a Modest Proposal (Medinnovationblog)
- Endovascular Forum Inc.’s President to Participate in Health 2.0 Northeast Panel (Bio Medicine)
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- The Health 2.0 Blog: Genomics Diagnosis is ahead of treatments (Health BlogGirl)
- Lurkers in Health 2.0, Do They Benefit? (Dr. Shock)
- Health Fool Point Oh! (crossover Health)
- Trials and tribulations in the health 2.0 sphere (Syndicom)
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- Health 2.0 in San Francisco October 22-23 (Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review)
- Health 2.0: Addressable market opportunities (Consumer-focused Health Care)
- Playnormous Games to be Featured at Health 2.0 Conference (Playnormous Health Games)
- Top 50 Health 2.0 Blogs (RNCentral.com)
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- Health 2.0 can pose risks to providers (FierceHealth IT)
- Boston Becomes a Hotbed for Health 2.0 (Market Watch)
- YouTube as a Source of Health Misinformation (Second Brain)
- Revolution Health: Heralding the Demise of “Health 2.0″? (Ted Eytan, MD)
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- HealthCampDc – looking back and looking forward (EKIVE – Thoughts and Ideas as Web 2.0 meets the Enterprise)
- Nexthealth: a picture worth a thousand words (e-patients.net)
- The Medicine 2.0 Congress (The Efficient MD)
- Managing Risks in Health 2.0 (Digital HealthCare)
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- Businesses Can’t Hide From 2.0: A Look At 2.0’s Impact Across Industries (bsgnwok)
- Health 2.0 in action (Becoming Outcome Informed)
- Upstream about Health 2.0 (MedBlog.nl)
- Health 2.0: American Well and the Advent of Paid Telemedicine (Health Care Industry)
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eDrugSearch.com will soon be releasing our first e-book, 99 Ways to Save Money on Prescription Drugs. To whet your appetite, here are 10 ways to save, courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (who interviewed Dr. Edward Jardini and Steven Findlay, managing editor of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, for their story):
1. Start with a heart-to-heart with your doctor … Tell him or her, honestly, how much you can afford to spend on medication … In the end, you may find you just don’t need some of the drugs you’re taking.
2. Ask about generics. These are usually much, much cheaper than brand-name drugs, says Steven Findlay … The cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, he says, is a good example. It costs $95 to $100 a month. A generic alternative, such as Simvastatin, is about $30.
3. Check out the $4 generics many stores now offer. Those lists expand periodically, Findlay says. And more stores are offering them…
4. Don’t forget over-the-counter medicines. … Consider them especially for allergies and occasional bouts of insomnia and heartburn.
5. Don’t “ask your doctor” like all those ads tell you to… Advertised drugs are expensive, and we often don’t need them.
6. Be cautious about accepting free samples. Drug companies don’t give samples to doctors for every medication, just those that bring in the greatest profits…
7. Search the Web. You probably won’t find generics for less online, but you can save 10 to 30 percent on some brand-name medications if you buy them from reputable drugstores that sell over the Internet, Findlay says. “You will cut the brick-and-mortar — the overhead — costs,” he says. Shop around, though. Prices vary.
8. Turn to Canada. Generics are cheaper here than there. But when it comes to brand-name drugs, you can save significantly, according to Findlay, especially if you’re on two or three medications. You can find Canadian pharmacies online, too. “Don’t go to the fly-by-nights,” Findlay says. “Go to the biggies. They’re not too hard to find.” And don’t worry. Buying drugs from Canada won’t get you in trouble with the law, Findlay says, as long as you’re buying them for yourself and you have a prescription.
9. Look into Prescription Assistance Programs. Pharmaceutical companies typically offer them to provide free or low-cost drugs to people who lack prescription drug coverage … But you must meet certain income guidelines, and the application process can be time-consuming…
10. Consider pill-splitting. Sometimes a pill that’s double the dose isn’t double the price. So you can split it in half and save money. Be careful, though … always check with your doctor first.
