Advice Columns from Dr. Carolyn Clancy

September 15 2009 20090915

What You Need to Know about Blood Thinner Pills

August 4 2009 20090804

An Aspirin a Day? The Answer is Different for Men and Women

January 2 2008 20080102

Tips for Taking Medicines Safely

Other Patient & Consumer Resources

• How to Create a Pill Card
• Su medicamento: Infórmese. Evite riesgos. (Incluye tarjeta de bolsillo
• Tratamiento con Coumadin® (Transcripción en español, 30 segundos MP3 audio file)
• Your Medicine: Be Smart. Be Safe. (with wallet card)
• Your Medicine: Be Smart. Be Safe. List of Doctors and Pharmacists (DOC)
• Your Medicine: Be Smart. Be Safe. Medicine Wallet Card
• Your Medicine: Notes
• Your Medicine: Play It Safe
• Your Medicine: Questions To Ask Before Taking Medicine

Clinicians & Providers

• Assessment of Thiopurine Methyltransferase Activity in Patients Prescribed Azathioprine or Other Thiopurine-based Drugs
• Automated Telephone Reminders: A Tool to Help Refill Medicines On Time
• Comparing National Institutes of Health Funding of Emergency Medicine to Four Medical Specialties
• Comparison of Different Approaches to Confounding Adjustment in a Study on the Association of Antipsychotic Medication with Mortality in Older Nursing Home Patients
• Cost-effectiveness of Medicare Drug Plans in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
• Decreased Antibiotic Utilization after Implementation of a Guideline for Inpatient Cellulitis and Cutaneous Abscess
• Defining the Emergency Care Sensitive Condition: A Health Policy Research Agenda in Emergency Medicine
• ED Antibiotic Use for Acute Respiratory Illnesses Since Pneumonia Performance Measure Inception
• Hospital-reported Data on the Pneumonia Quality Measure ‘Time to First Antibiotic Dose" are not Associated with Inpatient Mortality
• Medication Adherence Interventions: Comparative Effectiveness
• Medication Adherence Interventions: Comparative Effectiveness
• Medication Adherence in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Evidence-based Review
• Medication Management & Health IT
• Medications at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) Toolkit for Medication Reconciliation
• Patient Safety-focused Medication Therapy Management: Challenges Affecting Future Implementation
• Patient-focused Intervention To Improve Long-term Adherence to Evidence-based Medications: a Randomized Trial
• Potentially Harmful Drug-drug Interactions in the Elderly: a Review
• Reducing Costs and Improving Outcomes
• Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior with Antidepressant Treatment: Reanalysis of the Randomized Placebo-controlled Studies of Fluoxetine and Venlafaxine
• ff-label Drug Use and Promotion: Balancing Public Health Goals and Commercial Speech

Hospital & Health System Resources

• Automated Telephone Reminders: A Tool to Help Refill Medicines On Time
• Comparing National Institutes of Health Funding of Emergency Medicine to Four Medical Specialties
• Comparison of Different Approaches to Confounding Adjustment in a Study on the Association of Antipsychotic Medication with Mortality in Older Nursing Home Patients
• Medications at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) Toolkit for Medication Reconciliation
• Reducing Costs and Improving Outcomes

Policymaker Resources

• ED Antibiotic Use for Acute Respiratory Illnesses Since Pneumonia Performance Measure Inception
• Patient Safety-focused Medication Therapy Management: Challenges Affecting Future Implementation
• Patient-focused Intervention To Improve Long-term Adherence to Evidence-based Medications: a Randomized Trial
• Potentially Harmful Drug-drug Interactions in the Elderly: a Review

Fact Sheets

September 1 2012 20120901

Reducing Costs and Improving Outcomes

Other Research & Data

• Black Medicare patients less likely than whites to follow their doctor's instructions on taking medicines
• Comparing National Institutes of Health Funding of Emergency Medicine to Four Medical Specialties
• Comparison of Different Approaches to Confounding Adjustment in a Study on the Association of Antipsychotic Medication with Mortality in Older Nursing Home Patients
• Cost-effectiveness of Medicare Drug Plans in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
• Defining the Emergency Care Sensitive Condition: A Health Policy Research Agenda in Emergency Medicine
• ED Antibiotic Use for Acute Respiratory Illnesses Since Pneumonia Performance Measure Inception
• Hospital-reported Data on the Pneumonia Quality Measure ‘Time to First Antibiotic Dose" are not Associated with Inpatient Mortality
• Inner-city minority adults with chronic asthma are more likely to take inhaled medicine if they believe in its benefits
• Maryland Guides Prescribers on Use of Atypical Antipsychotic Medications
• Medication Adherence Interventions: Comparative Effectiveness
• Patient Safety-focused Medication Therapy Management: Challenges Affecting Future Implementation
• Patient-focused Intervention To Improve Long-term Adherence to Evidence-based Medications: a Randomized Trial
• Potentially Harmful Drug-drug Interactions in the Elderly: a Review
• Simple tool to measure health literacy in patients with HIV successfully predicts medication adherence
• Simplified drug warnings improve patients' understanding of what to do or avoid when given a particular prescription
• Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior with Antidepressant Treatment: Reanalysis of the Randomized Placebo-controlled Studies of Fluoxetine and Venlafaxine
• ff-label Drug Use and Promotion: Balancing Public Health Goals and Commercial Speech

Press Releases

September 27 2011 20110927

"Off-label" Use of Antipsychotic Drugs for Some Conditions Not Supported by Evidence

October 25 2010 20101025

Hospitalizations for Medication and Illicit Drug-related Conditions on the Rise among Americans Ages 45 and Older

News & Numbers

October 12 2011 20111012

Children's Use of Asthma Controller Drugs Doubles

July 28 2011 20110728

Drug Expenses for Children With Asthma More Than Doubled in 10 Years

Advice Columns from Dr. Carolyn Clancy

September 15 2009 20090915

What You Need to Know about Blood Thinner Pills

August 4 2009 20090804

An Aspirin a Day? The Answer is Different for Men and Women

January 2 2008 20080102

Tips for Taking Medicines Safely

Other News & Events

• A customized computer drug alert requiring active provider response is no more effective than a passive alert
• A large proportion of hospitalized children receive numerous medications during their hospitalization
• A program for laboratory monitoring of renin-angiotensin system drugs is cost-effective for certain high-risk patients
• A small number of drugs are used most commonly during pediatric hospitalizations
• ADHD medications don't increase serious heart risks in children or adults
• AHRQ Study Examines Adverse Drug Events Caused by Medication Administration Errors
• AHRQ Study Shows Using Bar-code Technology with eMAR Reduces Medication Errors
• AHRQ offers free toolkit to strengthen medication reconciliation
• AHRQ report finds unclear value of pretesting autoimmune disorder patients before prescribing thiopurine drugs
• Antibiotic resistance is prevalent and varied in long-term-care facilities
• Antibiotics are modestly more effective than no treatment for middle ear infections in children
• Antidepressant use rises while psychotherapy declines
• Antidepressants may help some HIV patients stick to their complex medication regimens
• Antipsychotic use doubles for very young children, while mental health visits are few
• Antiretroviral switching strategies to treat HIV improve survival and are cost-effective in resource-limited countries
• Beta blockers are underused in patients receiving implantable cardioverter defibrillators
• Better adherence to diabetes medications means fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits
• Black Medicare patients less likely than whites to follow their doctor's instructions on taking medicines
• Brand-name drugs not better than generics for controlling epilepsy
• COPD drug triad associated with reduced death and hospitalization rates
• Care setting affects likelihood that children with persistent asthma will receive inhaled steroids
• Cholesterol and diabetes drugs lead drug spending for the elderly
• Clinician and Patient Resources Now Available on ADHD Treatment Options
• Clinicians should be cautious when prescribing one class of diabetes drugs for patients at high risk for heart attack
• Compliance is low for computer alerts recommending conversion from intravenous to oral medications
• Cost-effectiveness of Medicare Drug Plans in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
• Criteria used to identify "drugs to avoid" in the elderly are not very accurate
• Disparities widen in the use of asthma medications
• Drug expenses for children with asthma more than doubled in 10 years
• Drugs to treat hepatitis B may not prevent patients from liver disease later
• Educational intervention helps doctors and patients split statin tablets to save money for patients and payers
• Electronic order sets can help treatment conform to guidelines for antibiotic use after surgery
• Epilepsy drugs do not appear to increase suicide risk in patients with bipolar disorder
• Evidence report examines health IT impact on medication management
• Extended use of antiviral drugs found to be safe and effective in preventing symptomatic influenza
• Extended use of medications to prevent blood clots may benefit patients after major orthopedic surgery
• Foreign-born patients are more likely to have a form of tuberculosis that resists a common drug used in treatment
• Geographic Variation in Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing Among Older Adults
• Guide helps consumers reduce medication errors
• HIV patients are at risk for being prescribed wrong drug combinations
• HIV/AIDS drugs have varied effects on lipid levels
• Health plans vary widely in the prescribing of antibiotics
• Hydroxychloroquine still underused by patients with lupus, but use more likely if treated by rheumatologists
• Impact of anti-arthritis drug on lipid levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis remains unclear
• Inner-city minority adults with chronic asthma are more likely to take inhaled medicine if they believe in its benefits
• Laboratory monitoring of high-risk medications varies greatly
• Many hospitalized children receive numerous medications, raising potential safety concerns
• Medicaid drug restrictions may lead to adverse events for psychiatric patients
• Medication review technique may help identify drug-related problems in the elderly
• Medication safety indicators can guide improvement in primary care drug selection, dosing, and monitoring
• Medications differ in their effect on risk of foot ulcers and limb amputations in patients with diabetes
• Medications for low bone density prevent fractures in women with osteoporosis
• Metformin just as effective as other medications for treating type 2 diabetes
• Metformin remains the medication of first choice in treating type 2 diabetes
• Nearly 9 percent of children experience agitation during sedation for nonsurgical procedures
• New Patient-Centered Medical Home Brief and White Paper Now Available
• New Web Videonovela Series Helps Spanish-Speaking Patients Compare Treatments for Diabetes
• Newer antidepressants equally effective in treating major depressive disorder
• Outpatient advice on pediatric medication safety is inadequate
• Patients more likely to follow medication regimens if they share their doctor's beliefs about causes of health outcomes
• Performance measures requiring antibiotics for pneumonia have not boosted antibiotic use in nonpneumonia patients
• Persons with mental disorders switching from Medicaid to Medicare drug coverage may have drug access problems
• Pharmacy, medical, and nurse practitioner students need more education on drug-drug interactions
• Physicians need to be better educated about FDA-approved indications for drugs and evidence for off-label drug use
• Pilot study finds a low level of medication errors for look-alike, sound-alike drugs prescribed for children
• Prescription drug purchases increase for digestive problems
• Report Finds Off-Label Use of Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs Not Supported By Evidence for Some Conditions
• Research comparing diabetes medications helps patients and clinicians choose the right one
• Research review finds support for some off-label uses of atypical antipsychotic medications
• Rotavirus was culprit in one-fourth of children's diarrhea-related emergency department visits prior to vaccine
• Seniors learn some things from prescription drug advertisements, but can also be misled
• Simple tool to measure health literacy in patients with HIV successfully predicts medication adherence
• Simplified drug warnings improve patients' understanding of what to do or avoid when given a particular prescription
• Stroke education program improves medication knowledge and satisfaction with health care providers' explanations
• Studies examine impact of drug caps and pay for performance on care costs and outcomes
• Studies examine safety of pain killers among older adults
• The effects of direct-to-consumer drug advertising on statin use depends on the person's experience with the statin
• Trends in treating depression favor psychotropic medications over psychotherapy
• Unlike the United Kingdom, the United States has boosted its use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for respiratory infections
• Updated report compares the effectiveness and risks of popular hypertension medications
• Use of physician extenders associated with increase in antidepressant prescribing in nursing homes, Figure
• Women want clinicians to talk about the risk medications pose to an unborn child
• Youths initially diagnosed with ADHD receive an array of medications