Epocrates Pulse Newsletter May 2010


	Talking with Dr. Rutledge
	Drug and Disease Updates
	DocAlert® Messages: Readers' Favorites
	FDA MedWatch Safety Alerts
	Special Savings for Group Purchases
	New! Epocrates® Essentials Deluxe for BlackBerry®
	What's This Disease?
	Visit Us at ASCO

How do you stay current? With so many demands on your time, staying on top of clinical developments can be a challenge.

That's where Epocrates can help. Our references are updated and expanded weekly so you can be confident that you always have the most up-to-the-minute information at your fingertips.

In a typical month, the Epocrates Medical Information Editors revise hundreds of monographs. Plus, all Epocrates mobile products come bundled with our DocAlert medical news service to help you stay on top of the latest news, so we recommend that you update Epocrates on your mobile device once per week.

Update Epocrates on your iPhone®, BlackBerry, Palm® OS, or Windows Mobile® device.

Talking with Dr. Rutledge

Geoffrey Rutledge, MD, PhD
CMO, EVP of Product Development, Epocrates

Last month, I described how physicians are using various social tools to interact with their colleagues, and I asked for your thoughts and comments on how you might like to take advantage of the community of healthcare professionals who use Epocrates. Your level of interest and the thoughtfulness of your replies were incredible. Many of you saw the value: Carmelita F. said "... the thought of having another brain to pick when I run into a particularly perplexing patient is very appealing." Vaghenag T. wrote "...if we are already connected, it should be a no brainer." A few of you were less sure: "seems like something for kids..." wrote Ben C. Needless to say, I appreciate very much receiving your opinions and I read every single response. Thank you!

Thinking about it, even 5 years ago we were not talking about the convergence of social media and healthcare. I am constantly inspired and amazed at the speed at which medicine is advancing these days. During the last decade, not only have we benefited from new information technology such as the Internet (and Epocrates!), we have also seen breakthroughs in treatment and prevention of a host of medical illnesses. For example, nonsurgical treatments for heart disease are now routine, more targeted cancer therapies improve survival, and we have a much better understanding of how the human genome affects the onset and progress of disease.

When I first entered the field of medicine, textbooks were the mainstay of my studies, and even though I bought new editions of the standard texts every two years or so, it seems they were dated by the time they were published. Those textbooks still fill my bookshelves, but I find myself reaching for new technologies and resources to stay current. As many of you have told me, electronic resources such as Epocrates have become essential to keep you informed and up to date. In this issue, you'll learn about new enhancements we have developed to get medical news in your hands more quickly and with less effort.

I would be interested in hearing about the challenges you face keeping current. Would you like help in finding the latest medical guidelines, managing patient questions, or learning about new medical devices? I read and consider all of your comments carefully, and greatly appreciate your ideas too.

Please send your thoughts, comments and suggestions to me at talktogeoff@epocrates.com.

Readers' Favorites

Anne Meneghetti, MD
Director, Clinical Communications, Epocrates

CDC's infectious disease updates and the ever-popular "Top Stories" of the year commentaries from Journal Watch® topped our list of reader favorites over the past year.

DocAlert Readers' Favorites

•	CDC updates: H1N1 flu, adult immunization schedule
•	Top medical stories of 2009 (Journal Watch)
•	Rethinking aspirin for primary prevention (AHRQ)
•	Breast/ prostate cancer screening: are the benefits overstated?
•	Vitamin D deficiency diagnosis & management (BMJ)
•	Health care reform legislation
•	Long-term NSAID use: consensus guidelines
•	Knee osteoarthritis: 3 treatments that don't work (AHRQ)
•	Diagnosing chronic cough (BMJ)
•	Birth defects & antibiotics used during pregnancy (Journal Watch)
•	Chocolate & mortality after MI (Journal Watch)
•	Night call stress response & vascular disease risk (Journal Watch)


	Evaluation of anemia
	Health maintenance for adults
	Actinomycosis
	Hepatic steatosis
	Ovarian torsion
	Evaluation of persistent pulmonary infiltrate
	Skull fractures
	Polyarteritis nodosa
	Evaluation of cranial nerve mononeuropathy
	Yellow fever


	AK-Poly-Bac (bacitracin/polymyxin B ophthalmic)
	bacitracin/polymyxin B ophthalmic (generic)
	chlorzoxazone (generic for Parafon Forte DSC)
	citric acid/sodium citrate(generic for Bicitra)
	Exalgo (hydromorphone)
	Hizentra (immune globulin (human))
	lidocaine oronasopharyngeal (generic for Xylocaine oronasopharyngeal)
	lidocaine urethral (generic for Xylocaine urethral)
	losartan (first-time generic for Cozaar)
	losartan/hydrochlorothiazide (first-time generic for Hyzaar)
	Omnipred (prednisolone acetate ophthalmic)
	Oracit (citric acid/sodium citrate)
	Pennsaid (diclofenac topical)
	Pilopine HS (pilocarpine ophthalmic
	Pred-G (gentamicin/prednisolone ophthalmic)
	Qutenza (capsaicin topical)
	Tropicacyl (tropicamide ophthalmic)
	tropicamide ophthalmic (generic for Mydriacyl)
	Wilate (antihemophilic factor/von Willebrand factor complex (human))
	Xylocaine urethral (lidocaine urethral)
	Zyclara (imiquimod topical)

If you access Epocrates from an iPhone, iPod® touch, or iPad®, keep an eye out for our new "Read More Info" feature at the bottom of message summaries. This quick link provides immediate access to the same info available in the follow-up email – without the wait. When reading the summary of an FDA MedWatch alert, for example, "Read More Info" takes you directly to the full FDA alert – no internet connection required.

We offer access to free full-text source articles for selected DocAlert messages, for example, those sourced from the British Medical Journal, CDC's MMWR, National Guideline Clearinghouse, and to articles offered free via PubMed Central. After selecting "Read More Info", tap on any "free full-text" links to access the article right on your device whenever a network connection is available. Of course, you can still request an email as well.

When major FDA and CDC safety alerts break, we make the information available to your device faster than ever before. We go beyond breaking news to provide in-depth commentaries from leading experts, and in select cases, access to the primary source article when available. Your feedback is important to us; we welcome your advice on optimizing our DocAlert messaging service.

Email the Epocrates DocAlert Editorial Team

Prescription Drugs: Propylthiouracil, Heparin, Stalevo (entacapone/carbidopa/levodopa)

OTC products: Camolyn eye drops, Fisiolin nasal drops, Stud Capsule for Men, Atlas Operations, Inc. Sexual Enhancement Products, MasXtreme Capsules (Natural Wellness)

Medical devices: Coviden Shiley Tracheostomy Tubes, LIFEPAK 15 Monitor/Defibrillator by Physio-Control Inc., Teleflex Arrow IV Tubing Sets, Accessories, Embolectomy Catheters

Special Savings for Group Purchases
	Hospitals, schools, residency programs, medical groups and government agencies are encouraged to purchase Epocrates subscriptions as a group for substantial savings. Discounts apply at 10 users for Epocrates Essentials and Epocrates® Essentials Deluxe and 20 users for Epocrates Rx Pro and Epocrates® Online Premium. Please note that the minimum order is $1,500.

Discover how much you can save today!

Epocrates Essentials Deluxe for BlackBerry is here!

This all-inclusive clinical suite on BlackBerry provides you with our reliable drug and disease reference, plus exclusive access to over 100,000 medical terms and a complete medical billing guide of over 20,000 ICD-9 and CPT® codes. What else can Epocrates Essentials Deluxe do for you?

Please note that a memory card is required to download Epocrates Essentials Deluxe.

Visit Us at ASCO

Come visit Epocrates at booth #23080 at ASCO's Annual Meeting in Chicago from June 5-7, 2010. We will be there to make sure your Epocrates software is running smoothly, let you know about new products and answer any questions you may have. Can't make it? We welcome your comments any time at suggestionbox@epocrates.com. We can also respond via Facebook and Twitter.

	Test your knowledge! Can you identify the disease in this image? Answer

Find this image and many others in Epocrates® Essentials for iPhone® and BlackBerry®, Epocrates® Essentials Deluxe for iPhone and BlackBerry.

Mobile Updates

Update (sync) your device regularly to download free clinical content and news, including new drugs and DocAlert messages.

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

We occasionally select reader comments to feature in future newsletters. All readers featured in the newsletter will receive a free one-year subscription to the premium product of their choice.


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