Most healthcare professionals are familiar with Epocrates and I use it myself as a consumer to subscribe to formularies in my area so I can check too.
The information I use is free and gives me drug information on the formularies that I select via my account online. Not too long ago I added the WalMart $4.00 generic formulary too. As a consumer and patient this certainly comes in handy. There are additional subscriptions for professionals available, and there are a number of free calculators for consumers too.
As a matter of fact on the Medical Quack if you are reading here and need a quick look of up a drug, there’s an Epocrates shortcut where you can type in the name of a drug and you will get the full look up and rundown. This is what it looks like in the center column of the blog, right under the $4.00 and less generic drug links for retailers that offer them. You can see pictures of the pills as well so for me this is a must have application for my Smart Phone and it is free and available for BlackBerries, IPhones, Windows Mobile and Palm devices. Last time I was talking to an MD who didn’t use Epocrates I was able to find the formulary and cost information faster than what he had offered to have his staff look it up! BD
SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Walgreens and Epocrates, Inc. today announced Walgreens Prescription Savings Club (PSC) formulary list of more than 8,000 brand and generic medications is now easily accessible to physicians and other prescribing health care providers using Epocrates' mobile and online drug reference products. The collaboration between Walgreens and Epocrates allows health care providers to be better equipped to identify lower cost medication options for their patients when writing or refilling a prescription.
Using Epocrates, health care providers can quickly check and compare the Walgreens PSC formulary to determine if a less expensive drug option is available, which can provide patients with significant monthly savings for frequent and required medications. Prescribing providers will have free electronic access to the Walgreens PSC list, which includes treatments for most chronic conditions and diseases, such as insulin, statins and antivirals. In a recent survey of more than 1,000 physicians, about 80 percent of respondents reported changing a prescribing decision based on information available in Epocrates.
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