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 Hurricane Aid
Where Do You CME? Photo Contest
September's Winning Photo
 Congratulations to
Dr. Carl Tommaso — his Where do you CME? entry combines the traditional cowboy with the modern physician, and was our September Photo of the Month!
Dr. Tommaso earned CME credits while waiting at the rope for a rodeo. As well as winning the rodeo, Dr. Tommaso wins a $100 American Express gift card and is a finalist for the $3,000 grand prize.
We received many great entries showing that MobileCME users really are earning CME everywhere. Other Epocrates employee favorites included customers fishing, walking on a treadmill, and waiting for a haircut! We are awarding these runners-up a free 6-month Epocrates Essentials subscription.
View the winning photos and submit your own unique photo >
From the Epocrates Medical Editors
Addressing Dangerous Abbreviations
In an effort to reduce medication errors, the Joint Commission (JCAHO) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) have published lists of commonly used abbreviations, symbols, and acronyms that should be avoided when prescribing medications, due to the danger of misinterpretation.
Although the information in Epocrates references is in a typed rather than handwritten format, our editors have been investigating ways that our applications could be modified to support this important safety endeavor.
We are in the process of evaluating the existence of some of these abbreviations in the Epocrates Rx drug database and are attempting to eliminate them where feasible.
However, the use of abbreviations is inherent to the very concise format of Epocrates Rx. Spelling out many of the abbreviations in question would drastically change the look and presentation of the content and could potentially lead to increased confusion when viewing the dosing recommendations on a small handheld screen. In addition, changes of this nature would require a complete recoding of certain sections. Because of this complexity, we are carefully researching our options and potential solutions. This research involves meetings and correspondence with representatives at ISMP, as well as surveys to our users.
Our goal is to arrive at a resolution that will benefit prescribers and their patients, and still allow us to provide the accurate, concise, and quickly accessed drug information that our customers have come to depend upon. The first abbreviations that have been targeted in the Epocrates Rx drug database are “U” and “IU", which have been replaced with “unit” and “units” respectively.
We will keep you updated on other changes to our content as we continue to investigate how we can support JCAHO and ISMP in their campaign to promote safe prescribing habits.
Clinical Updates
In September, we added 35 new drugs, including 1 new vaccine and 24 ophthalmic products, to our content and made 154 edits to existing monographs.
Drug Edit Highlights:
- cetuximab (Erbitux) – Updated dosing information and adverse reactions to reflect MedWatch Safety labeling changes on monitoring recommendations and an increased incidence of hypomagnesemia observed in clinical trials
- lamotrigine (Lamictal) – Updated dosing information, contraindications/cautions, and serious reactions to reflect recent product labeling changes on clinical worsening and suicidality in patients with bipolar disorder
- trastuzumab (Herceptin) – Updated dosing information to include monitoring of cardiac function based on recent MedWatch Safety labeling changes on updated cardiotoxicity information
- Brands Discontinued in US: Ancef, Decadron, Humibid DM, Humibid L.A., Ocupress, Proventil Repetabs, Stadol NS, Tolectin, Tolectin DS, Ventolin inhaled, Xylocaine
VIEW DETAILED UPDATES >
 Breast Cancer Awareness
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), a collaboration of more than a dozen professional medical associations, charities, and government agencies, including the ACS, ACOG, ASCO, CDC, NCI, and NMA.
The National Breast Cancer Awareness campaign continues to stress the importance of early detection through annual mammography screening for women over 40. As part of this month-long event, October 21 will be highlighted as National Mammography Day.
The NBCAM Board of Sponsors offers a wealth of resources for healthcare professionals (PDF).
Free NCI Tumor Staging Reference
We would like to remind you that a free National Cancer Institute Tumor Staging Reference is available for customers with Palm OS® mobile devices.
The NCI Tumor Staging Reference MedTools application enables you to quickly and easily access tumor staging information for a particular cancer, either alphabetically or by body location/system.
Learn more >
Quick Poll — Give Us Your Opinion
Do you think that health awareness events such as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month are valuable?
Please note that poll questions can only be answered via the HTML version of our newsletter email.
To find out how your colleagues answered, be sure to read the November newsletter from Epocrates!
Last month we asked: The CDC recommends that all adults receive the Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine every 10 years. Are your patients aware of that recommendation? 62% said yes. 38% said no.
Epocrates in the News
 “MobileCME gives physicians the option to complete CME courses on PDAs, Smartphones and other hand-held devices.”
 “The effort to bring continuing medical educations into physicians’ practices is taking hold [with MobileCME]. ”
 “Oswego County OB/GYN physicians also use PDAs to check drug reference information on Epocrates.”
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