September 2009 — The Epocratic Oath

Epocrates is well known for providing healthcare professionals with innovative mobile and web-based products that help reduce medical errors, improve patient care and increase productivity. Our clinical information and decision support tools, vetted by a team of physicians and pharmacists, enable you to find answers more quickly and confidently at the point of care.

We greatly appreciate your support and want to renew our dedication to provide you with what you need, when you need it.

With that, we proudly present The Epocratic Oath

- We are committed to accuracy and integrity in our content. - We strive to build the most user-friendly mobile software for clinicians. - We guarantee to help you save time and improve care with our products.

Drug Interactions

Epocrates helps you put safety first. Reduce harmful drug interactions for your patients with our handy drug interaction tool.  Included with all our products, you can check for interactions among 30 prescription drugs at a time! Potential interactions are organized by category to help you determine the appropriate action. Learn more >>

Premium subscribers can also check for interactions with alternative medicines and OTCs. Get access to this premium content and more with Epocrates Rx Pro®, Epocrates® Essentials, Epocrates® Essentials Deluxe, and Epocrates Online® Premium.

FLU I.Q.

By Anne Meneghetti, MD, Epocrates Director, Clinical Communications

Who has time to tune in to CDC podcasts, track tweets from flu.gov, and troll through a forest of consumer-speak on the web?  Staying current on 2009 H1N1 (swine) flu has never been more vital than on the brink of this complicated 2009-10 influenza season.  Readers can rest in confidence that Epocrates synthesizes the latest drug and vaccine recommendations from the CDC and other sources.  Our team of physicians and PharmDs continually update our drug and disease references to support rapid decision-making at the point of care and have just created a new Swine Flu information center. 

Continue reading this editorial for “5 Facts to Know about 2009 H1N1 Influenza A” >>

FDA MedWatch Safety Alerts

Body Building and Sports Performance Products Marketed as Steroid Alternatives
TNF Blockers: Risk of Lymphoma in Children & Adolescents
Safety Review of Botulinum Toxin: Botox/Botox Cosmetic, Dysport, Myobloc

Q: Dr. A., a community pharmacist, asked, "I noticed you have added many more brand name OTC products to your premium drug application.  But, they seem to have a different monograph structure.  Can you tell me why?"

A:We recently launched a new module for our premium mobile products that includes hundreds of brand name OTC products. It was imperative for us to create a new monograph structure specifically suited to these products because OTC product information is different than that for prescription products. In the new brand name OTC monographs, you will still see familiar sections, such as Dosing, Contraindications/Cautions, Adverse Reactions, and Drug Interactions. You will also notice new sections, such as Formulations, as well as flavors and significant inactive ingredients (e.g., sugar, alcohol, dyes, etc.) for liquid and chewable formulations.  You will also notice the new Alternatives section, which can quickly help you find similar products if you need to add or subtract an ingredient or choose a product available in a different formulation for your patient.

For more information about our new OTC content, please visit our OTC page.

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

Each month, one of our in-house experts answers a reader’s question regarding Epocrates clinical content. Do you have a question? Please email questions to the Epocrates Medical Information editors at clinical@epocrates.com.

Epocrates Medical Information team thoroughly updates our drug and disease content every day, so you can rest easy knowing that you’re working with the latest and most accurate clinical information.

Updates at a Glance

New Disease and Condition Topics Available* Psoriatic arthritis Evaluation of hypertension Laryngitis Evaluation of Hearing Loss Lactase deficiency Reye Syndrome Scoliosis Labyrinthitis Lipoma Psittacosis Lead toxicity Wegeners granulomatosis Balanoposthitis Transient synovitis of the hip Acute liver failure Acromegaly Compartment syndrome of extremities Evaluation of respiratory alkalosis Syphilis infection Placental abruption Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome Mucormycosis Peutz-Jeghers syndrome Alpha thalassemia	New Drugs Adcirca (tadalafil) Asacol HD (mesalamine) Creon(pancrelipase) Effient (prasugrel) HyperRHO S/D Mini-Dose (Rho (D) immune globulin) Lamictal XR (lamotrigine) Multaq (dronedarone) Nalfon (fenoprofen) pentostatin (generic) tacrolimus (first-time generic for Prograf)	MobileCME® Headlines Cardiovascular Disease in Type 2 Diabetes: Racial/Ethnic Differences RA and Malignancy Advances in Migraine Management
*This disease information can be found in Epocrates Online, Epocrates Online Premium or Epocrates Essentials for the iPhone. 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.

Medtechnophobia — There is a Cure

Do You Love Epocrates?

Tell us why in 10 words or less! In celebration of Epocrates’ upcoming 10 year anniversary, we’re giving away one-year Epocrates Essentials subscriptions to 10 lucky entrants. Send your love to community@epocrates.com by 9/30/09 with “Pulse” in the subject line.

Do you use an Epocrates product on your iPhone or iPod touch? If you can, please spend a few minutes to rate and review us on iTunes. There are currently over 1500 ratings and over 500 reviews for Epocrates. Once there, you can share your opinion or indicate whether you found a particular review to be helpful. In doing so, you’ll help other healthcare professionals make the decision on the app that’s right for them.

We always love to hear from our members about Epocrates products, or any other topics. youropinion@epocrates.com.

Epocrates, Inc., 1100 Park Place, Suite 300, San Mateo, CA 94403 | www.epocrates.com