There are more and more drugs created each day to combat various diseases. There are, however, only a few companies who provide free drug reference guides online for Clinicians to do research from. One company that has lead the way in doing this is Epocrates. They have recently enhanced their free web-based drug and formulary reference guide with patient education materials and additional clinical tools. From their website, medical professionals can have immediate access to the information needed to make prescribing decisions – such as drug dosing for drug interactions and health plan coverage. An example of a drug they can get information on is Avandia, which is an oral diabetes medicine.

In addition, Clinicians can now access valuable resources online like viewing pill pictures to help patients correctly identify their prescribed medications thus eliminating the guesswork and reducing drug errors. Clinicians may also provide their patients with a printed picture of newly prescribed drugs as ao to avoid confusion with other pills. This is quite helpful in view of the fact that one-third of U.S. adults take at least five medications or supplements every day. In addition, since most patients still have questions about their new prescriptions after leaving the doctor’s office, Epocrates Online gives Clinicians the ability to provide their patients with answers to frequently asked questions for the prescribed medication. The educational handouts are patient-friendly and are available in English or Spanish and can be printed or emailed. Some concerns that the handouts address include: What if I miss a dose? Should this be taken with food? Swallowed whole? What are the possible side effects?

The service that Epocrates Online provides is truly remarkable as it allows medical professionals to look-up the average retail price for medications for uninsured patients and check for health plan coverage and copay tiers for insured patients. Clinicians then have the option to prescribe a lower-cost alternative if available in either situation. This feature comes in quite handy in view of the fact that Physicians do not normally discuss drug costs with their patients because the information is not readily available. Additionally, Epocrates Online application includes information on more than 3,300 drugs, formulary coverage information for more than 130 health plans and all Medicare Part D plans, and MultiCheck - a drug interaction checker that can identify possible interactions.

So, if you are a healthcare editor or publisher, give Epocrates Online a try by contacting Erica Sniad via telephone at 650-227-6907 or via email at pr@epocrates.com for more information. You will see how beneficial the Epocrates advantage really is.