June 2009 — It’s Graduation Season

Congratulations to the recent medical school graduates!

Most of us are several years removed from graduation, but all of us know that the learning never stops. With advances in medicine and medical technology occurring so frequently, it’s vital to stay current. Epocrates products offer the most up-to-date drug and disease information, including our DocAlert^® medical news service to help you stay on top of the latest developments. Plus, our mobileCME™ program allows you to earn CME credits on the go.

We also have several videos available on our YouTube channel for new students and more “mature” students. Recent grads may want to view top tips for a successful practice, while everyone can benefit from the tips for using technology with patients.

Also in this issue:

Special Offer What's This Disease? Clinical Editorial: What's in Your Pocket? Lung Cancer Mobile Resource Center Seattle Heart Failure Risk Calc

Adult ADHD Screener Tool Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) Tool Clinical Question of the Month Your Voice

All graduates need the tools to efficiently and effectively treat patients. For a limited-time, take 20% off Epocrates® Essentials. Available with Windows Mobile OS, Palm OS, and iPhone™ OS, you’ll have reliable drug, disease, and lab information at your fingertips. Buy Now »

Discount will automatically be applied in the shopping cart. If you don't see the discount, enter GRADS2009. Offer ends 6/17/09.

Keeping up with your studies? Then test your knowledge! What’s wrong with this colon?

Here’s the answer…

Brought to you by Epocrates Online, featuring at-a-glance disease overviews, detailed diagnostic and treatment recommendations, and national medical society guidelines.

Q: Dr. P. asked, "Do you include off-label uses?"

A: Epocrates does incorporate off-label uses into its drug monographs.  These can be found in the Adult and Peds Dosing sections and are preceded by an asterisk (*).  In order for an off-label use to be included in Epocrates Rx^®, the drug must have proven safety and efficacy for that use as evidenced by controlled clinical trials or extensive clinical experience.  This ensures that our subscribers can trust that the off-label uses and dosing are well established and not experimental or anecdotal. Learn more about Epocrates Rx and other reference content.

This month’s answer provided by:
Joshua L. Conrad, Pharm.D. – Epocrates’ Managing Editor, Medical Information

What's In Your Pocket?

By Anne Meneghetti, MD, Senior Managing Editor

Handheld Devices Are Changing How Doctors Learn
Think back to your days as an intern or resident:  What did you carry in your white coat pocket?  Back in the day (circa 1990), my pockets held the expected diagnostic tools plus my favorite antibiotic guide, index cards, plastic ruler, calculator, paper eye chart, and a little homemade booklet with phone and beeper numbers, clinical algorithms, differentials and such.  Later, I added a list of phrases for pulmonary consultation in 3 languages. 
In 2009, you can find a handheld application to replace every one of these items.  Beyond drug and disease information, there are interactive study guides, a PubMed® search app, and calculators galore.  As handheld device connectivity increases, lab and imaging results, real-time telemetry, medical record dictation, and e-prescribing have the potential to open up an entire generation of healthcare professionals to a freer lifestyle.  Epocrates Rx remains the #1 free iPhone® medical app!  Here are some of my other favorites:
Translation.  Do you know how to say, “I’m going to put a tube down your nose into your stomach” in Spanish?  There’s an audio app that will say it out loud for you, at the press of a button. 
Study guides.  Frank Netter’s gorgeous illustration flash cards and various primers for ECG and radiographs are well-suited to zooming in for a closer look. Test preparation guides abound; perhaps studying will be more fun while on the go.
Eye chart.  Even the classic eye chart is available on iPhone.  I wonder if there’s an app to figure out how to estimate the correct distance from the patient’s eyes…
Health Maintenance.  The Electronic Preventive Services Selector app from the US Preventive Services Task Force reminds us exactly which services are recommended for a 34 year-old non-pregnant non-smoking sexually active woman – or anyone else, for that matter. 
2009 is clearly an exciting year for medical information technology.  We welcome hearing from you about your favorite medical apps and tools for handheld devices at youropinion@epocrates.com.

FDA MedWatch Safety Alerts

Transdermal Drug Patches with Metallic Backings: Risk of Burns During MRI Scans
FDA Warning: Hydroxycut Products and Liver Injury
Digoxin: Voluntary Consumer Recall of Caraco Brand Due to Tablet Size Differences

Lung Cancer Mobile Resource Center

Keep up the learning! Download this FREE handheld resource with the most significant clinical news and research in lung cancer. The articles are carefully selected and commented upon by Edward S. Kim, M.D., Assistant Professor, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center." 

Mobile Resource Centers are also available for many other diseases/conditions such as Leukemia, IBS & Chronic Constipation, Allergy & Asthma, Diabetes, and Infection Management.

Mobile Resources Centers are available on Windows Mobile (Pocket PC) and Palm OS.

Seattle Heart Failure Risk Calc

This handy tool, based on the Seattle Heart Failure Model, provides an accurate estimate of one-, two-, and five-year survival rates and average years of survival for patients with heart failure. The model incorporates medications and devices that are used to treat heart failure and how altering these can affect survival.

This tool is available on Windows Mobile (Pocket PC) and Palm OS.

Download for FREE »

Adult ADHD Screener Tool

This 18-question patient questionnaire is based on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) version 1.1, developed by the World Health Organization. This screening can help determine the need for a more in-depth clinician interview.

Download for FREE »

Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) Tool

The PEP tool provides indication and dosing information about globulin therapy (passive immunization) for rapid immune protection after exposure to several common agents - Hepatitis A, Varicella, Rubella, Hepatitis B, Rabies, and Tetanus. A convenient calculator for weight-based dosing is also included.

Download for FREE »

Updates at a Glance

New Drugs Afinitor (everolimus) Carimune NF (immune globulin (human)) Celestone Soluspan (betamethasone sodium phosphate/betamethasone acetate) Degarelix (degarelix) Flebogamma (immune globulin (human)) GamaSTAN S/D (immune globulin (human)) Gammagard Liquid (immune globulin (human)) Gammagard S/D (immune globulin (human)) Gamunex (immune globulin (human)) Gelnique (oxybutynin topical) HyperRAB S/D (rabies immune globulin (human)) HyperTET S/D (tetanus immune globulin (human)) Imogam Rabies-HT (rabies immune globulin (human)) Ixiaro (Japanese encephalitis vaccine, inactivated) Kalexate (sodium polystyrene sulfonate) Kionex (sodium polystyrene sulfonate) mycophenolate mofetil (first-time generic for CellCept) Octagam (immune globulin (human)) Privigen (immune globulin (human)) Vivaglobin (immune globulin (human))	New Disease and Condition Topics Available* Snake Bites Evaluation of Pruritus Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Children Evaluation of Taste Disorders Toxic Megacolon Cirrhosis Infantile Spasms Overview of Brain Tumors Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndromes Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion Nocardiosis Sialadenitis *This disease information can be found in Epocrates Online, Epocrates Online Premium or Epocrates Essentials for the iPhone.	MobileCME Headlines Type 2 Diabetes: Assessing the Armamentarium Clinical Studies of Atherosclerosis: Imaging End Points CV Risk Prediction and Primary Prevention - Emerging Concepts
	How to Get these Updates Mobile: Update (sync) your device regularly to download free updates, including new drug monographs and MobileCME activities. If you don't have MobileCME, download it here. Add new formularies to your profile in My Account. Online: Log in to Epocrates Online for continually updated drug information and disease content. Select new formularies in the DRUGS tab.

We love to hear from our members about Epocrates products, or any other topics. This month, we’d love to know what you would tell this year’s graduating class. Please let us know at youropinion@epocrates.com.

We’ll select a few comments to feature in next month’s newsletter. All readers featured in the newsletter will receive a free one-year subscription to the Epocrates premium product of their choice.

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