As a mother, I am concerned with any prescribed medications by doctors. I am concerned with side effects, overdosage, consumption or food abstinence. Unfortunately, doctors do not always explain these issues and most of us are clueless when it comes to medication and drugs. Now, with the internet, we can be more proactive in learning about the medication we take.
One great online free reference for drugs is Epocrates Online. Anyone can freely use this online resource to get more information on drugs. Clinicians can reference Epocrates Online and view pill pictures to help patients correctly identify their prescribed medications eliminating the guesswork and reducing drug errors. Clinicians may also provide their patients with a printed picture of the newly prescribed drug, such as a common antibiotic, Augmentin, to avoid confusion with other pills. Many patients have questions about new prescriptions after leaving the doctor’s office.
As an enhancement to the free version of Epocrates Online, clinicians can now provide their patients with answers to frequently asked questions for the prescribed medication. The patient-friendly educational handouts are available in English or Spanish and can be printed or emailed. Common concerns addressed in the handouts include; What if I miss a dose? Should this be taken with food? Swallowed whole? What are the possible side effects?
Physicians often don’t have discussions with their patients about drug costs because the information is not readily available. However, the high costs of drugs are often linked to patient non-compliance. For uninsured patients, clinicians can now look-up the average retail price for medications in Epocrates drug database. For insured patients, clinicians can check for health plan coverage and copay tiers. Clinicians then have the option to prescribe a lower-cost alternative if available in either situation. In addition to these features, Epocrates Online application includes information on more than 3,300 drugs, MultiCheck – a drug interaction checker that can identify possible interactions, and formulary coverage information for more than 130 health plans and all Medicare Part D plans. Healthcare editors and publishers are encouraged to try Epocrates Online and contact Erica Sniad at 650-227-6907 or pr@epocrates.com for more information.