 |
|
|
December 2004 - Issue No. 42
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advocate of the Month
Negev Bar, MD
I'm a 4th-year Family Physician Resident at the Department of Family Medicine in Haifa, Israel, and for the last 9 months, I have volunteered as a physician in Kisiizi Hospital - a rural hospital in southwest Uganda.
This 200-bed hospital serves the population of Rukungiri district, which suffers from a severe shortage of trained medical staff, especially physicians. Most people there are farmers living in small villages in mud houses with no electricity or running water.
Like most parts of Africa, this area has a prevalence of HIV (up to 20%) and very high mortality rates from Tuberculosis and Malaria. The life expectancy in Uganda is 46 for woman and 43 for men. The infant mortality rate is 87.9 per 1000 live births.
I first visited Africa a few years ago as a tourist. Then, without the ability to help, I felt the great suffering of thousands of human beings not receiving medical care. Today, as a physician, I feel I cannot remain indifferent. After obtaining the knowledge and tools which could be used, I feel I should utilize them on behalf of people in areas of the world where a physician is a "luxury" and available to the wealthy only.
The work is challenging - very few lab tests and little imaging are available, no HIV drugs, and very few medicines for diabetes or hypertension. Conversely, I see daily use of medications prohibited in the "west" due to their severe side effects.
I reference the drug database and ID reference in Epocrates Rx Pro almost every day. Some of the Tables are very useful for use in the "Tropics": Apgar score, G6PD deficiency, Glasgow coma score for adults and children, insulin comparison, lab normal values, normal vital signs...unfortunately, local herbs that are used as medicines have not made it into the Rx database!
View more photos from Kisiizi Hospital
Donate your old PDA to physicians in Africa
Advocate Program
We created the Advocate Program for anyone who is interested in sharing information about Epocrates software with peers.
If you would like to become an Epocrates Advocate, please write to advocates@epocrates.com. Include your name, credentials or titles, city and state, and your sub-specialty (if applicable).
|
|
|
Holiday Season Specials
Discounts on products and license certificates
|
Save up to $40* on an Epocrates subscription product or product license certificate with our holiday discount code - treat yourself or a friend to Epocrates' continually updated references today!
Enter discount code: HOL2004 in the shopping cart through December 31st 2004.
Plus, buy any subscription product or activate a certificate license code through December 31st 2004 and you'll receive a complimentary 1-year subscription to Epocrates Rx Online™ web-based reference (no discount code required).
Buy Now
*A 17.39% discount will be applied to all subscription products & license certificates in your shopping cart. Maximum saving on any one product is $40 off a 2-year Epocrates® Essentials subscription. Maximum saving on a license certificate is $24.34 off a 1-year Epocrates Essentials license certificate.
Great value hardware-software bundles
If you need a new mobile device or would like to buy one for another healthcare professional or student, we have great bundle deals for you! Save up to $165 on a palmOne Tungsten mobile/ up to $150 on a HP iPAQ Pocket PC mobile - bundled with Epocrates Essentials all-in-one reference.
These bundles are available for a limited time from pdamd.com.
Learn More | Buy Now
If you are buying a new mobile, please donate your old mobile to African physicians. Learn More
Extra End-of-Year Discount for Groups
If you'd like to start the year with Epocrates software at your fingertips, be sure to let your IT purchaser know that we are offering an outstanding bonus discount on purchases of 10 or more subscriptions through the end of 2004.
Epocrates offers the ability to purchase licenses for any combination of Epocrates subscription products — 1- or 2-year subscription lengths. We also offer site licenses for Epocrates Rx Online web-based drug and formulary reference, which allows concurrent access across your healthcare organization without the hassle of individual username and passwords.
Don't miss this opportunity to get the most out of your budget and make a positive impact on patient care and employee satisfaction. We'll get you set up in no time!
“Epocrates Rx Pro is being used by several of our physicians and pharmacists. It provides key, timely and valuable information at the point of care. The product is very intuitive to set up and use. The updates are received automatically upon cradling the device. We have had very little need to contact the Epocrates support staff, but when we have they have been very knowledgeable and pleasant.” Jennifer Joyce, Information Technology Director, Methodist Medical Group, IN
Study Demonstrates Comprehensiveness of Epocrates ID
“Epocrates ID infectious disease guide provides treatment recommendations for 100% of patients admitted with an infectious disease diagnosis.”
In a recently published prospective study (Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 2004, 3:22), Epocrates ID was found to provide treatment recommendations for all patients admitted with a primary or secondary infectious disease diagnosis. Over a four-month period, patients admitted to an internal medicine resident teaching service were included in a study examining how often expert recommendations were available from mobile infectious disease resources. Over that study period, 883 patients were admitted to a resident service, of which 202 were suspected to have a primary or secondary infectious diagnosis. Recommendations for treating the identified infectious conditions were found in Epocrates ID for all 202 patients. The spectrum of infections included acute meningitis, empyema, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, HIV-related CNS infections, and FUO.
Reference:
Burdette SD, Herchline TE, and Richardson WS. Killing bugs at the bedside: a prospective hospital survey of how frequently personal digital assistants provide expert recommendations in the treatment of infectious diseases. Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 2004, 3:22
http://www.ann-clinmicrob.com/content/pdf/
1476-0711-3-22.pdf
Epocrates ID is available in Epocrates Rx Pro enhanced drug reference and Epocrates Essentials all-in-one reference. Unlike other infectious disease references included in this study, Epocrates ID is integrated with the Epocrates Rx drug and formulary reference for convenient access to up-to-date prescribing information.
View other clinical content highlights and updates
The Wait Is Over!
New products for Pocket PC available now
We are excited to announce that our free drug reference and all of our premium clinical references are now available for PDAs running the Pocket PC operating system.
Products Available for Palm AND Pocket PC:
- Epocrates Rx FREE drug and formulary reference
- Includes more than 3,000 brands and generics, drug-drug interaction checker, hundreds of health insurance formularies and MedMath*
- Learn More | Buy Now
- Epocrates Essentials all-in-one reference
- Combines Epocrates Rx Pro, Epocrates Dx and Epocrates Lab in one, seamlessly integrated application...the result: fast answers to a broad range of clinical questions
- Learn More | Buy Now
- Epocrates Essentials for Nurses all-in-one reference with IV tools
- Our new nursing suite includes Epocrates Essentials with an integrated IV compatibility checker and a dynamic drip rate calculator*.
- Learn More | Buy Now
- Epocrates Rx Pro enhanced drug and formulary reference with integrated infectious disease treatment recommendations and tools
- The latest version of our premium drug reference includes all of Epocrates Rx plus alternative (herbal) medicines, interactions between drugs and herbals, integrated medical calculators, infectious disease treatment recommendations, IV compatibility, and clinical tables and guidelines
- Learn More | Buy Now
- Epocrates Dx disease diagnosis and treatment reference
- Includes concise information on diagnosis and treatment for more than 1,200 diseases and conditions, sourced from Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult
- Learn More | Buy Now
- Epocrates Lab diagnostic and laboratory test reference
- A unique, up-to-date guide to collection, interpretation and follow-up for hundreds of tests and panels
- Learn More | Buy Now
*Feature coming soon for Pocket PC
Note: Epocrates Rx Pro is compatible with users of Windows and MAC computers. Our other references are not currently available for MAC users. However, a Mac-compatible version of Epocrates Essentials is coming soon.
Refer your friends and colleagues to any of our products and earn valuable rewards (through 12/15/04).
Wanted: PDAs for African Physicians
Donate your old mobile to SATELLIFE
Can you imagine having little or no access to current medical textbooks, journals, the Internet or clinical drug references? That's the reality for most physicians and medical students in Africa.
SATELLIFE's mobile computer projects provide African physicians and students with urgently needed access to critical, up-to-date medical and drug information.
You can help!
If you have a PDA you no longer need, or are thinking of purchasing an Epocrates Essentials/ mobile bundle, please donate your old PDA to Satellife (donations are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law):
Mail your PDA (with or without cradle) to:
Mobiles for Africa
SATELLIFE
30 CALIFORNIA STREET
WATERTOWN, MA 02472
USA
Be sure to include your name and address, so Satellife can mail you a receipt for tax purposes.
African physicians speak out about Satellife:
“The best gift you have given me is the PDA. Everything I need in my practice is here!” Dr. Patrick Okaro, Uganda
“Despite living in a country on its knees, we are lucky enough to still have e-mail. We are situated in a remote part of Zimbabwe and have to be largely self-sufficient in most aspects, particularly health. Access to journals is not easy...being able to keep abreast of new developments in the medical world and revise common problems helps to make one feel less cut off from the rest of the world.” Dr. R. Davy, Zimbabwe
“I have a personal thank you (that I am sure many health professionals in developing countries will share with me) to say to all who continue to make this resource available. Thank you for the education, thank you for the information, and thank you for the opportunities that you make available to me and many others.” Dr. Frank Baiden, Navrongo Health Research Center, Ghana
“I am a medical student and it is certain that the information you are providing will make me a better doctor one day.” J. Ngondi, Nairobi, Kenya
For more information about SATELLIFE, an organization dedicated to improving health in the world's poorest countries by providing solutions to the crisis of “information poverty”, click here.
Our Advocate of the Month, Negev Bar, MD, is currently volunteering as a physician in rural Uganda.
Read his report and view photos of his experiences.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q. What is the best way to look up treatment recommendations in Epocrates ID?
A. There are three ways to search the Epocrates ID infectious disease reference in Epocrates Rx Pro to find up-to-date recommendations for treating a wide range of infections. For example, if you are interested in looking up information on the treatment of syphilis:
After opening the application, tap the pull down menu at the top of the screen, next to the bold text "View By". You may then search by System, Bug or Drug, depending on the situation.
By System: This method is especially useful when the exact diagnosis is uncertain.
1) Use the Look Up feature to search for "Genital", and select it from the list
2) Under Adults, select "Chancre"
By Bug: This method is most useful when you are certain of the causative organism.
1) Use the Look Up feature to search for "Treponema pallidum", and select it from the list
2) If you tap on this organism in the main list, you will be taken to related topics pertaining to this specific infection
By Drug: This method is helpful when the diagnosis and treatment are established, but an exact dose or alternate regimen is sought.
1) Use the Look Up feature to search for "penicillin G benzathine", and select it from the list
2) Infections commonly treated by this agent are displayed and can be selected. Under Adults, select "Chancre" and view the first-line treatment as well as alternate regimens that are also effective for the clinical situation or specific infection.
After narrowing down the search to a final topic, the pull down menu at the bottom of the screen may be used to view Empiric Tx, Specific Tx, and Other Information, which also includes a reference for the source of the recommendations. In addition, tap on any underlined medication name on the Specific Tx or Empiric Tx screens to jump to the related full drug monograph in Epocrates Rx.
|
|
|
Epocrates Inc., 1100 Park Place Suite 300, San Mateo, CA. 94403
|
|
|
|
|
