fda.gov

Drug Info at Your Fingertips

Easy-to-read information about more than 9,000 brand-name and generic drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, is available on the National Library of Medicine's consumer Website, MEDLINEplus. Located at www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html, the site gives information provided by the United States Pharmacopeia about side effects, dosing, drug interactions, precautions, and storage for each drug. Also included are links to information about newly approved drugs and drugs currently in clinical research studies. Consumers who want to delve deeper into a drug's background can search MEDLINE's huge database for research articles on specific drugs. The site also links to medical dictionaries, lists of doctors and hospitals, and "health topic" pages with background on diseases, fitness, and nutrition.

A Century of Health Improvements

Twenty-five years. That's how much was added to the life expectancy of people in this country during the 20th century. The last hundred years saw killer diseases wiped out and other deadly or debilitating disorders reduced to treatable conditions. Though the list of public health improvements between 1900 and 1999 is huge, there are standouts, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On its Website at www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/tengpha.htm, CDC has compiled a roster of the greatest 20th century health achievements. Included are immunizations, control of infectious diseases, safer foods, and declines in deaths from heart disease and stroke. Each item on the list is linked to an article that gives the historical perspective along with a view of where things stand now.

Keeping Your Food Safe

You've likely heard the advice before about food safety: clean, cook, chill and separate. It's a blueprint for helping ensure that what you eat won't make you sick. Now you can learn more about these food safety measures and take a quiz to see how well you've absorbed the fine points. The Partnership for Food Safety Education, as part of its "Fight Bac!" campaign, has a Website that asks questions like "At what temperature should you set your refrigerator?" The site also has a special section on egg safety and a chart with safe cooking temperatures. To get up to speed on food safety, go to www.fightbac.org. By the way, the answer to the refrigerator question is 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to Choose a Health-Care Plan

Savvy consumers try to seek out the best prices and quality for cars, houses, computers, and just about every other product or service. But when it comes to health-care, the process can be a bit more difficult than simply comparing car models. Like any commodity, health plans are not all created equal, and quality does vary. The Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force, a consortium of federal agencies involved with health-care, has created a Website at www.consumer.gov/qualityhealth/index.html to help consumers navigate through the sometimes tricky process of choosing a suitable health-care provider. First, it answers the question, "What is quality?" by showing scientific ways to measure health-care quality. Then the site explains choosing a health plan, buying smart, and patient rights. Also included is a special page devoted to ensuring personal privacy and the confidentiality of health information. More information on quality health-care also is available on the Department of Health and Human Services' "healthfinder" site at www.healthfinder.gov.

Some Mammography Basics

When being screened for breast cancer, how can a woman be sure that her mammogram is of high quality? Because federal law requires that all mammogram facilities meet quality standards, and FDA inspects these facilities regularly. The standards apply to the technician who takes the mammogram, the radiologist who interprets it, and the medical physicist who tests the equipment. An FDA Website dedicated to mammography has more information about the procedure, including a list of questions and answers to help women understand how mammography works. At www.fda.gov/cdrh/mammography/, the site explains provisions of the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992, amended in 1998, including the requirement that mammography facilities must send a report in lay language that summarizes exam results to all patients within 30 days. Also found on the site are Mammography Matters, a quarterly newsletter published by FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, and an article that explains improved breast cancer treatments. For more information about breast cancer prevention and treatments, go to the National Cancer Institute's Website at www.cancernet.nci.nih.gov/cancertypes.html.

Table of Contents | How to Subscribe | Back Issues | FDA Home Page

Questions concerning the editorial content of FDA Consumer should be directed to FDA's Office of Public Affairs.

(Hypertext created by clb 2000-JUN-13)