This Month's Features

Focus On Seniors' Care

May Clinical Updates

New PalmOne Bundles

Customer Support Highlight

Group Discounts

Question Of The Month

Advocate of the Month

Richard Mark Orlan, M.D.

I am a Geriatrician practicing in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, Florida. My practice is presently exclusively primary and consultative care for seniors and baby boomers interested in healthy aging. What makes our practice unique in this community is that in addition to a small office-based ambulatory care practice, we care for people where they live, so that they can accomplish the goal of aging in place.

Epocrates, since its inception, has been an invaluable tool for our practice. With the pressure of running a business, providing high-quality evidence-based care in a mobile environment could not be accomplished without reliable electronic resources.

I have formal training in Biochemical Pharmacology, Internal Medicine, and Nephrology; but until I found Epocrates I carried a PDR wherever I went! Now I very rarely, if ever, write a prescription without consulting my "peripheral brain" to ascertain all the potential risks of pharmacologic intervention as well as the perceived benefits. I am confident that many lives have been touched by our ability to make dosage adjustments, simplify dosing regimens, and identify side effects and/or adverse effects by consulting the Epocrates drug database.

One of the features we use most often is the continually updated Cost Information section. The ever-increasing focus on costs, and the ability (or inability) for seniors to afford their medications, causes us to be acutely aware of the financial burden of the care plans we develop. Thanks to Epocrates, I rarely have to be prompted by a senior or caregiver to explore potential cost-savings for them.

Not a day goes by in which we do not find information in Epocrates references that relates to an educational event for our hospice team staff or ARNPs in the skilled nursing facilities.

I can safely say without any financial inducement that my practice and my patients benefits greatly by our use of the Epocrates products.

What are other geriatric specialists saying about Epocrates products?

I have a geriatric practice of 150 nursing home residents and several assisted living residents. I frequently call upon your product to reference a variety of drugs. I am very impressed by the ease with which one can learn to use and operate it.
Rudy Bayardo, FNP

I find myself using Epocrates software several times a day to rapidly access drug, diagnostic, and formulary information.
Marcos Rejtman, D.O.
(FP, Geriatric Med, Hospice & Palliative Care)

Focus On Seniors' Care

It's a well-publicized fact that the population in the USA and many other countries is aging rapidly. Within 10 years much of the "baby boomer" generation — the 70-plus million Americans born from 1946 to 1964 — will reach retirement age. By 2040 the 65+ age group will double to 77 million, according to census data.

A September 2000 report from the AARP Public Policy Institute discussed the lesser known fact that "preventable medical injury is a particularly significant problem for patients age 65 and older".

In this newsletter, we hear from Geriatrician Richard Orlan, M.D. ,and we focus on Epocrates features, content, and solutions that can help you provide older adults with safe and effective care.

Clinical Updates

Polypharmacy presents a risk to many older adults, who make up 13% of the US population but account for 30% of all prescribed drugs.

According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, "adverse drug events (ADEs) are the most common cause of preventable injury among hospitalized older patients." One recommended way to avoid injury is "the use of new technology".

The Epocrates AutoUpdate feature makes it easy to stay current with the latest drug safety information.

The Epocrates medical editors added 17 new drug monographs and made 187 revisions to the Epocrates Rx drug database in May.

VIEW CLINICAL UPDATES >

Additionally, Epocrates software includes many features that can help you provide safer care to seniors:

Use the MultiCheck Multiple-Drug Interaction Checker to quickly identify potential interactions that could harm your patients or decrease the efficacy of their medications.

Mobile software users can check for interactions among up to 30 medications, and web-based users can check up to 50 medications at one time. (Epocrates Rx Pro, Epocrates Essentials, and Epocrates Rx Online users can include Alt Meds in their selection).

Mobile Software Users:

• Within the Rx tab, tap on the red MultiCheck icon, .
• To select a drug to be checked, start entering the drug name until you see it highlighted in the alphabetical list, and then tap on the listing to add it to your MultiCheck selection - it will appear in a new list at the top of the screen beneath the MultiCheck heading. Note: If you launch MultiCheck from a drug monograph, that drug will already be highlighted - just tap on it to add it to your list.
• To remove a drug from your selection, tap on the drug name in the MultiCheck list.
• Select at least one more drug (you can choose up to 30), and then tap on "Drugs" to check for interactions.
• All drug interactions found in your selection will be organized into clinically useful categories.
• Interactions between pairs of drugs will be displayed as underlined text; tap on the underlined interaction to display details.
• Tap "Back" to go back to your current selection (you may add orremove drugs to your selection and check for interactions again) Tap "New List" to start a new check. Or tap "Close" to return to the Rx drug database.

Epocrates Rx Online Users:

• Tap on the MultiCheck tab, .
• To select a drug to be checked, enter the drug name and click "Search", or select the first letter of your drug and scroll through the alphabetical list;
• Click on the drug name to highlight it and then click "Add to List" . It will appear in the "Selected" box on the right.To remove a drug from your selection, tap on the drug name in the "Selected" box and click "Remove from List".
• Select at least one more drug (you can choose up to 50), and then tap on "Run MultiCheck" to check for interactions.
• All drug interactions found in your selection will be displayed in the "MultiCheck Results" box, linked with the symbol. Tap on the interaction to display details.
• Edit your drug checklist, or tap "Clear All " to start a new check.

Additionally, print or email Epocrates Rx Online Patient Education Handouts on your patients' medications, to ensure that safe and effective treatment continues at home.

Don't subscribe to the Epocrates Rx Online web-based reference? View a sample patient education handout here.

Epocrates Rx Online Users Only:

• Click on the Rx tab and look up a drug.
• Click on the "Patient Education" tab.
• View patient medication information in English or click "Show Spanish" for Spanish language information.
• Click on the email icon, , to email the handout to up to 5 colleagues or patients.
• Click on the print icon, , to print the handout for your patient.

New PalmOne Bundles

Epocrates, palmOne and pdaMD.com have joined forces to provide you with a great deal on a new Tungsten™ E2 mobile device, or LifeDrive™ mobile manager bundled with the Epocrates® Essentials all-in-one guide to drugs, diseases, and diagnostics.

• Save $50 on a Tungsten E2 & Epocrates Essentials software
• Save $140 on a LifeDrive & Epocrates Essentials software

LEARN MORE >

Customer Support Highlight

Is your Palm or Pocket PC synchronization software compatible with Epocrates applications?

To successfully install or AutoUpdate Epocrates mobile applications, you need to have a compatible version of the Palm OS® or Pocket PC OS synchronization software on your computer.

How to check if your software is compatible:

Palm OS mobile device syncing to a Windows computer

We require Palm Desktop 3.1 or higher. To determine what version you have, please:

1. Turn on your PC.
2. Go to "Start" > "Programs" > "Palm Desktop" > "Palm Desktop".
3. Launch "Palm Desktop".
4. Click on the "Help" menu item and then on “About Palm Desktop”.
5. If your version is lower than 3.1, please visit the palmOne website to download and install the most recent version.

Palm OS mobile device syncing to a Macintosh computer

We require Palm Desktop 4.0.1 or higher. To determine what version you have, please:

1. Turn on your Mac.
2. Go to "Macintosh HD" > "Applications" > "Palm" > "Palm Desktop".
3. Launch "Palm Desktop".
4. Click on the "Palm Desktop " menu item and then on “About Palm Desktop”.
5. If your version is lower than 4.0.1, please visit the palmOne website to download and install the most recent version.

Pocket PC OS mobile device syncing to a Windows computer:

We require ActiveSync 3.5 or higher. To determine what version you have, please:

1. Turn on your PC.
2. Go to "Start" > "Programs" > "Microsoft ActiveSync".
3. Launch "Microsoft ActiveSync".
4. Click on the "Help" menu item and then on “About Microsoft ActiveSync”.
5. If your version is lower than 3.5, please visit the Microsoft website to download and install the most recent version.

View a complete list of our system requirements

Group Discounts

Reduce costs for your patients and your group

According to a 2004 study by a University of Hawaii researcher (published in JAMA), "seniors who use up their yearly drug benefits before the end of the year often resort to reducing their recommended dosages, or even stop taking their essential medications altogether".

Epocrates mobile and web-based subscription products provide average drug costs, and hundreds of continually updated healthplan and hospital drug formularies. By giving every healthcare provider at your hospital, group practice, hospice or nursing home access to Epocrates products, you can make a huge impact on efficiency and patient satisfaction.

For a limited time, save up to 35%* when your group purchases any mobile or web-based subscription products.

Subscription Products: Purchase 5 or more subscriptions to the Epocrates Essentials all-in-one clinical reference, or 10 or more licenses to individual references, such as the Epocrates Rx Online web-based drug reference or Epocrates Rx Pro premium mobile drug reference, to qualify for our special group discount.  

Desktop Site Licenses: The Epocrates Rx Online web-based drug reference can now be purchased as a site license. The site license is the perfect solution for a group - it allows users to access Epocrates' continually updated drug and formulary information without a username or password via an IP address-authenticated solution. Pricing starts at $3,000 for one year of this service. Inquire about this product to be quoted a discounted rate for your group today.  

PLUS: Purchase subscription products with a site license or ask about pricing for multiple years for additional savings!

Act now! Offer ends 6/30/05. Request a quote and purchase before 6/30/05 to get your special group discount. To request a quote, please click here or call 650-227-1722.

*Actual discount based on quantity purchased and range from 20%-35% off of retail price.  

And Finally ...

Congratulations to the following five lucky winners of our ACP prize drawing. Each of them received a $100 voucher to spend at pdaMD.com:

Dina Alhazim, M.D., Tucumcari, NM
Todd Simon, M.D., Jersey City
L. Bryan Cheshire, M.D., Worcester, MA
Brian Michael Icasas Cabral, M.D., Akron, OH
H. Compton Gift, M.D., CT