Resources and Medical Information
HOW TO RESEARCH YOUR HOSPITAL
Hospital Safety Score
http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org
Some people do more research on what car to buy than what hospital to go to for medical care. The Hospital Safety Score provides data and research to help you make informed decisions about a critical aspect of your hospital stay – safety.
HOW TO RESEARCH YOUR MEDICINES
You should always do your homework before taking a new medication or having a medical device implanted in your body.
Following are some of the websites we find most helpful in researching drugs and medical devices:
FDA
Of course, the FDA website is one of the most detailed and informative. The FDA site lists recalls, safety alerts and reports of adverse reactions. You can also sign up for email alerts regarding recalls.
MedPageToday
Another website I find helpful is MedPageToday. This site is directed to medical professionals but provides the daily updates include information regarding medications as well as medical devices.
The Hill
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch
This website, The Hill, addresses primarily political issues but includes a blog titled HealthWatch that provides some interesting insight into the politics of medicine and the lobbying efforts of pharmaceutical companies.
Medscape
http://www.medscape.com/medscapetoday
This is another website directed more to medical professionals but is helpful in researching adverse drug events, and breaking news regarding drugs as well as treatment options.
Epocrates
This is a great website that allows you to research medications and look up interactions between medications.
Public Citizen
Public Citizen, this site is the home of Dr. Sydney Wolf, a consumer advocate. Public Citizen’s work in health and safety has focused on protecting consumers by advocating for stronger physician accountability; safer, more effective drugs, medical devices and dietary supplements; equitable health care; safer streets, cars and trucks; and improvements in worker and product safety
Worst Pills
This website, Worst Pills, written by an expert staff of doctors and pharmacists at Public Citizen. It is searchable by drug name; by family of drugs; by disease or condition; by drug-induced disease or condition; and by health policy issue. In this central source of information, you can find recommendations on drugs and dietary supplements based on unbiased, expert evaluations of the most up-to-date medical literature and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) own unpublished data.
WorstPills.org includes in-depth information about the safety and efficacy of more than 500 top-selling drugs – including 212 that we recommend you not use under any circumstances. We also provide recommendations on safer alternatives to harmful drugs and up-to-the-minute email alerts about newly discovered drug dangers.
Health Day
HealthDay, along with LimeHealth, offers more than 1,500 pieces of original A-Z health content featuring health and medical articles, as well as special reports and first-person essays that are practical, engaging, and reader friendly
Adverse Events, Inc.
Adverse Events, Inc. (AEI) is the only provider of up-to-the-minute, critical, potentially life-saving information regarding side effects associated with FDA-approved prescription medications. AEI has created a unique set of online tools that are optimized to provide un-paralleled access to adverse event information on over 4,000 drugs, in an easy to understand and navigate format. AEI’s tools give control over treatment plans back to patients and their doctors, while providing an immediate view of potential trends and problems in the drug industry to pharmaceutical, healthcare, insurers, financial institutions and media.
Clarimed
Provides information about diseases, procedures, and medical devices including professional descriptions, performance and product comparisons. Also provides other patient’s experiences and allows you to share your own as well as rate and comment on healthcare products.