MedlinePlus - Trusted Health Information for You

Hi All,

Medline Plus is a government sponsored health website. Specifically the site is sponsored by the venerable U.S. National Library of Medicine and the NIH (National Institute of Health). 

The site has an amazing wealth of information, but for today's blog entry I'd like to discuss the section of the site that covers drugs, herbs, and supplements.

Users can learn about prescription drugs and OTC (over-the-counter) medicines, including side effects, dosage, special precautions, and more.

Users can browse by generic or brand name. 

Users can browse dietary supplements and herbal remedies to learn about their effectiveness, usual dosage and drug interactions. 

When a user locates a particular drug they want to research - in this case Lipitor - you get the following information: 
- Why is this medication prescribed?
- How should this medicine be used?
- Other uses for this medicine
- What special precautions should I follow?
- What special dietary instructions should I follow?
- What should I do if I forget a dose?
- What side effects can this medication cause?
- What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication?
- What do do in case of emergency or overdose?
- What other information should I know about this medication?
- Brand names of the medication
- Brand names of combination products?


At the bottom of the page is a notation of when the particular page was last revised - which is essential information for someone who is trying to learn more about a particular medication!

Enjoy the site and learning about the medication(s) you might be taking!

Regards,
Stu

Medical Identity Theft

Hi All,

Its a fact of life - we live...and we sometimes get sick.  And its a very unfortunate fact of life some people try to take advantage of those very same sick people.

As a result there is such a thing as medical identity theft. 

Basically it goes like this: 'A thief may use your name or health insurance numbers to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, file claims with your insurance provider, or get other care. If the thief's health information is mixed with yours, your treatment, insurance and payment records, and credit report may be affected'.  

If you see signs of medical identity theft, visit Identity Theft.gov to report and recover from identity theft.

Click on the following links to learn more about detecting medical identity theft, correcting mistakes in your medical records, protecting your medical information and checking for other identity theft  problems.

For more information on extended fraud alerts and credit freezes, click this link.
To learn how to keep your personal information secure, click here.  

Hopefully you won't need these links, but if you do I hope they help!

Regards,

Stu