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October 2008 — Medicine & Politics Issue 
More than 45 million Americans are without health coverage, according to the 2007 Census Report. The reported impact of those uninsured is widespread and healthcare costs continue to climb. When voters have been asked what issue matters most to them in the upcoming presidential election, healthcare is always near the top of the list. The Democratic and Republican candidates have acknowledged the system cannot continue as is and have proposals outlining the changes they will make if elected. We’d like to hear YOUR thoughts on this topic. Which candidate has the better plan for healthcare reform? Should more states adopt a mandatory health insurance law, like Massachusetts?
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Test your knowledge! Can you identify the disease in this image? Brought to you by Epocrates Online, featuring at-a-glance disease overviews, detailed diagnostic and treatment recommendations and national medical society guidelines. |
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Bipolar MDQ Screening Tool The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is a 13-item checklist developed by Robert M. A. Hirschfeld, MD, and published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. The easy-to-use questionnaire facilitates initial screening of patients for bipolar disorder. Any patient who screens positive on the MDQ should have a full evaluation for bipolar disorder or for diseases presenting similar symptoms before a diagnosis is determined.
Available with Epocrates Rx®, Epocrates Rx Pro®, Epocrates® Essentials, and Epocrates® Essentials Deluxe mobile software on Palm OS. Formulary Hosting With the tough economic situation, your patients are more concerned than ever with their drug costs. Epocrates is here to help you help your patients get the drugs they need by hosting $0 cost formularies and $4 generics.
The Target $4 Generic, Blue Cross of NEPA/FPH 3-Tier and Presbyterian Senior Care Drug Lists are available as free “formularies” via Epocrates’ mobile and online drug references.
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Are you receiving DocAlert messages? Just update (sync) your handheld or visit our help page to learn More Saline Irrigation More Effective than Spray for Nasal Symptoms US researchers evaluated 121 adults with chronic nasal and sinus symptoms (stuffiness, congestion, or thick/ discolored nasal discharge) ongoing for over 6 months. Patients were randomized to isotonic saline via spray or as a large volume nasal irrigation instilled into the nostril, similar to the traditional neti pot procedure. After twice daily treatments for 2 months, along with their usual treatments, patients were evaluated using a previously validated instrument, the 20-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) score. (Apparently, cardiologists and oncologists are not the only specialists who can invent clever acronyms.) SNOT scores improved approximately twice as much on average in the irrigation group, showing significant changes at both 4 and 8 weeks.
Sensitivity of CT Colonography for Screening Large Colorectal Lesions In this study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, 2531 asymptomatic adults underwent both colonoscopy and CT colonography. Most were white, middle aged; fewer than 10% had a FHx of polyps or cancer. Compared with colonoscopy, CT had a sensitivity of 0.9, correctly identifying 90% of the larger adenomas and cancers (over 10 mm diameter) detected by colonoscopy. Sensitivity for adenomas 6-9 mm was 0.78. The downside: about 17% had what looked like a large polyp on CT; however, 3/4 of them turned out to be false alarms. Other factors for physicians and patients to bear in mind: consider the radiation dose incurred with repeated CT scanning, and the fact that positive scans must be confirmed with a diagnostic colonoscopy.
Recent FDA MedWatch Safety Alerts Epoetin alfa - More Deaths in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients |
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Migraine Quick Reference Tool This is a quick reference tool that will be useful for any clinician who treats headaches. This tool provides a step-by-step approach to classification, diagnosis and treatment of headaches, including menstrual migraines and chronic daily headaches.
Available with Epocrates Rx, Epocrates Rx Pro, Epocrates Essentials, and Epocrates Essentials Deluxe mobile software on Palm OS. Allergy and Asthma Mobile Resource Center A brand new Mobile Resource Center! The Allergy and Asthma Mobile Resource Center is a convenient handheld resource that can help you stay current in your practice. You’ll save time and effort with a summary of the most relevant clinical news and latest research on the Allergy and Asthma front. The articles are carefully selected and commented upon by contributing editor Elliot Israel, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. And don’t forget! Mobile Resource Centers are also available for Chronic Pain Management, Diabetes, IBS and Chronic Constipation, Fibromyalgia, ADHD, and Infection Management.
Vote for Epocrates! For the 4th year running, Epocrates has been nominated for the Mobile Star Awards™! You have helped us win 6 awards over the years and we're asking for your support again — simply go to the Mobile Village website by October 20 and vote for Epocrates Mobile Resource Centers in the Enterprise Software: Healthcare Reference category (#26). Please note that in order to vote you need to be registered for “Go Mobile,” a free e-newsletter from Mobile Village, which is not affiliated with Epocrates. Upcoming Meetings — Meet the Epocrates Team! Medical Group Management Association: October 19-22 — San Diego, CA Updates at a Glance
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Add Epocrates to your safe email list Are you worried that you're not receiving all your news and alert emails from Epocrates? Make sure that you add our email address support@e-news.epocrates.com to your "known sender list" or address book. Do you have a photographic memory? For the majority of us who don’t, it’s a good thing that handheld devices do. You can save a vast amount of information to your handheld device, but what do you do when your device starts running out of memory for those important Epocrates updates? Try one of these helpful FAQs to learn how you can manage the memory on your device: |
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We love to hear from our members about Epocrates products, or any other topics. This month, we’d especially like to hear what you think about how you encourage a better quality of life for your colleagues and patients, particularly through personal connections. Maybe your patients start a meet-up group to go for a run or create a page on Facebook to keep in touch with friends and relatives. What are your ideas? All customers featured in the newsletter will receive a free subscription to Epocrates Essentials Deluxe.
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Epocrates, Inc., 1100 Park Place, Suite 300, San Mateo, CA 94403 | www.epocrates.com |