Consumer Health: Rx Costs

The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) issued a report titled Shopping For Drugs: 2007 that examined ways in which consumers can save money on prescriptions. Some tips are fairly well-known, such as the tip on asking your doctor if the drug prescribed has a generic equivalent, while other tips include checking prescription prices at local pharmacies or via special websites, and more. These tips could save consumers anywhere from 10%-87% on their prescriptions.

As always, be sure to consult your physician -- he or she may be able to suggest the best generic or a cheaper OTC medication to substitute for the original prescription.

Compare pharmacy prices:
DestinationRx.com
PharmacyChecker.com
PillBot.com

Prescription assistance programs:
Partnership for Prescription Assistance
Rx Outreach
TogetherRxAccess
Prescription Drug Discount Program for Medicare Recipients (for Medicare beneficiaries without drug coverage)

Read the NCPA report here. (Adobe Acrobat required)

With thanks to HealthLeaders Daily News (23 January 2007).


Filed under Consumer Health

New in the Library

Journals Received in January 2007:
The American journal of cardiology
-v.99, no.2 plus Supplement American medical news v.50, no.3

Archives of internal medicine
-v.167, n.1 & 2

Clinical geriatrics
-v.15, n.1

Consultant
-v.47, n.1

Cortlandt forum
-v.20, n.1

Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
-v.297, n.3 & 4

The New England journal of medicine
-v.355, no.18, 20-21, 24-26 v.356, no.1 & 2

Filed under: Print Resources, Journals, A/V Resources

Featured Resources: DOAJ

Directory of Open Access Journals (http://www.doaj.org/)

The DOAJ is a directory of free, full text, journals covering a broad range of subjects and languages. At last check, the directory included 2529 journals with 125140 articles.

Users can browse by title or subject, and a portion of the journals are indexed to allow full-text article searches.

Biology and Life Sciences

• Biology – 97 journals
• Life Sciences – 41 journals

Health Sciences

• Dentistry -27 journals
• Medicine (General) - 220 journals
• Public Health - 80 journals

Filed under eResources, Online Journals, Free Resources

New Issue: Wellness Letter

The February 2007 issue of UC Berkeley's Wellness letter (0748-9234) is now available online. The newsletter covers nutrition, fitness, and other items involving consumer health.

• Non-subscribers can browse the Table of Contents (TOC) and read featured articles from the current issue here.
• Subscribers can access the complete current issue by logging in to the Subscribers Corner.

Like what you see?
Sign up to receive Wellness Letter updates here
Sign up to subscribe here ($28).

Filed under: eResources, Consumer Health, eNewsletters

Resource profile: UCI's Online Books

Resource profile

Resource: Online Books @ Grunigen Medical Library
Website: http://medical.lib.uci.edu/ebooks.html
Overview: eBooks
Description: UC Irvine's Grunigen Medical Library has links to full-text books that are available online. Some titles are restricted to UCIrvine (either on-site, or off-site users with UC Irvine library privileges) - other are available to the public. Restricted titles include Williams Hematology, Harrisons, as well as Sabiston's and Schwartz's surgery texts. Public titles include biomedical texts, as well as classics (like Gray's Anatomy), and a small number of other texts including Parkinson's Disease: Diagnosis and Clinical Management.
Audience: Medical library users, doctors, and other health professionals.
Of Note: The titles are organized alphabetically and icons denote which titles are restricted. Users can browse with a quick jump menu available at the top of the page or search by author, title, title keyword, or ISBN.
Related resources that may be of interest: FreeBooks4Doctors


Filed under: eResources, UC Irvine, eBooks

MD Consult Enhancements

On 29 October, MD Consult will be launching enhanced features like Book Image Searching, a new Home Page, enhanced search results, and drug information from Gold Standard.

For more information: see the online announcement.
To receive such notices direct in your email, sign up for MD Consult eNews.

Filed under MD Consult, eResources.

Pain Management CME

Below is a small list of online pain management CME to assist physicians in meeting the state requirement. Also included are some courses available only to nurses and pharmacists.

Medscape
Medical, Legal, and Practical Considerations in Pain Management
Release Date: January 30, 2006; Valid for credit through January 30, 2007.
Credits:
*Physicians - up to 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Telephone-Based Intervention Helps Patients Manage Pain
Release Date: August 14, 2006; Valid for credit through August 14, 2007.
Credits:
*Physicians - maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™;
*Family Physicians - up to 0.25 AAFP Prescribed credit(s);
*Nurses - 0.3 nursing contact hours (None of these credits is in the area of pharmacology).

American College of Clinical Pharmacy 2005 Annual Meeting
Highlights of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy 2005 Annual Meeting
Release Date: November 22, 2005; Valid for credit through November 22, 2006.
Credits:
*Nurses - 1.5 ANCC continuing education contact hours (0.9 credits are in the area of pharmacology);
*Pharmacists - 1.25 ACPE continuing education credits (0.125 CEUs).
Articles:
*Adding a Research Component to Clinical Practice
*Beyond Ouch: Pain and Palliation in Pediatrics
*The Interaction of Major Depression and Medical Illness

American Pharmacists Association 2006 Annual Meeting
Highlights of the American Pharmacists Association 2006 Annual Meeting
Release Date: May 3, 2006; Valid for credit through May 3, 2007.
Credits:
*Nurses - 1.8 ANCC continuing education contact hours (1.2 contact hours are in the area of pharmacology);
*Pharmacists - 1.5 ACPE continuing education credits (0.15 CEUs).
Articles:
*Neuropathic Pain: An Update on Effective Management Strategies
*Wrestling the Beast: Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes, and Related Disorders

Evolving Changes in the Chronic Pain Paradigm
Release Date: September 7, 2006; Valid for credit through September 7, 2007.
Credits:
*Physicians - maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™;
*Nurses - 1.2 ANCC contact hours (1.2 credits are in the area of pharmacology);
*Pharmacists - 1.0 ACPE continuing education credits (0.1 CEUs).

Challenging Perceptions in Chronic Pain
Release Date: March 17, 2006; Valid for credit through March 17, 2007.
Credits:
*Physicians - up to 2.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.

The Scope of Breakthrough Pain in Clinical Practice
Release Date: May 31, 2006; Valid for credit through May 31, 2007.
Credits:
*Physicians - up to 1.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™;
*Nurses - 2.4 ANCC continuing education contact hours;
*Pharmacists - 1.75 ACPE continuing education credits (0.175 CEUs).

Principles of Effective Pain Management at the End of Life
Release Date: October 5, 2006; Valid for credit through October 4, 2007.
Credits:
*Physicians - maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™;
*Nurses - 2.4 nursing contact hours (none of these credits is in the area of pharmacology).

AMA
Pain Management: The Online Series
Release date: December, 2005; Expiration date: December, 2006.
Credits:
*Physicians - maximum of 12 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.


Pain.com
Free and at-cost CME/CE available here.

Medical Board of California
The Medical Board has a list of available pain management courses (including self-study) here.


Filed under: CME, Pain Management, Legal.