August 4, 2009. Leading Health Website Offers New Approach to Comparative Medicine

RateADrug.com introduces a methodical way for patients to compare conventional treatments to alternative and complementary therapies.

Palo Alto, California (PRWEB) August 4, 2009 -- User-based health website RateADrug.com has added treatment evaluation and statistical comparison tools for alternative medicines and herbal supplements. Consumers will now be able to assess the safety and effectiveness of supplements and traditional Ayurvedic, Chinese, and homeopathic medicines, plus herbal remedies, vitamins, and minerals in addition to prescription drugs. Anyone trying to decide on the best treatment for their condition can use the site to make a personal evaluation of their current prescriptions and complementary medications, as well as look at how well other users rate both those and similar treatments.

Americans spend an estimated $34 billion per year on alternative therapies, roughly eleven percent of their out-of-pocket health expenses. However, most of the data used for making complementary treatment decisions comes from manufacturers or distributors. While the prescription drug industry has faced serious questions about the objectivity and integrity of the scientific data used to approve or prescribe conventional drugs, unregulated alternative therapies pose an equally important challenge. RateADrug offers an unbiased and highly systematic way for users to evaluate their own experiences with medications and compare them with crowd-sourced input from other users. The long-term goal will be to provide a comprehensive source of unbiased, user-based treatment data for all types of medications that will complement existing sources of health information.

"RateADrug users can directly compare real-world safety and effectiveness data of both prescription and alternative therapies to discover which treatment might be best for their specific condition," says Mark Deuitch, RateADrug's founder. "They can also e-mail their own evaluations of their current treatments to their doctor to initiate more productive office visits. RateADrug's new complementary therapy evaluations will enable doctors to understand patients' goals with supplements and avoid potentially dangerous interactions."

Furthermore, says Deuitch, "It is highly likely that the Obama health care reform plan will include an alternative medicine component, given the popularity and economic advantages of preventive and complementary medicine. Going forward, the need for a more systematic approach to finding out what actually works and what doesn't will be very important."

RateADrug.com provides online user-based studies and treatment evaluation tools for prescription drugs and PRWeb eBooks - Another online visibility tool from PRWeb alternative therapies. RateADrug's unique and highly systematic approach to crowd-sourced data collection provides a complementary source of health information that can be used in conjunction with FDA advisories, drug warning labels and physicians' advice. Users of prescription or alternative medications can learn about possible side effects and benefits of over 9000 prescription drugs and supplements and receive a free Doctor/Patient treatment evaluation report at http://www.RateADrug.com. RateADrug was created by the same software design team that developed and maintains PeopleClaim.com, FastDue.com, and YourFreeLegalForms.com.

February 14, 2009. Healthnews.com Tapping Internet Health Resources

There was a time when most Americans played an inconsequential part in their healthcare, relying primarily on their health care provider to make decisions regarding their well-being. But the days of a patient putting their lives into their doctor’s hands are over. Today, people are increasingly taking back the power over their healthcare experience—partly by doing their own research.

The internet is a valuable source of health information. An online search can provide answers to common health concerns, such as ways to protect against illness, what illnesses people in a particular age and race group are most vulnerable to, and the cause, symptoms, and treatments for illnesses. You can also get to know vitamins, minerals, supplements, natural remedies, and prescription drugs.

Care must be taken, however, to use only reliable sources and ones that are not biased by pharmaceutical or corporate objectives. For example, ConsumerLab.com (CL) provides independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness, and nutrition products. Since its founding in 1999, CL has tested more than 2,100 products, representing over 350 different brands and nearly every type of popular supplement. And, since CL has no interest in any of the companies they evaluate, you get truly independent and unbiased findings. Access to the testing results and other information does require a membership.

RateADrug.com is another independent company designed to help the public become more proactive with health issues, but with an added twist. At RateADrug.com, patients can rate and review prescription drugs they take and view other people’s experiences, anonymously and with no fees. Users can currently review or submit ratings on over 7,000 prescription drugs and alternative treatments. By taking a quick 5-minute survey, patients can receive personalized side effects and benefits of their medications. And because the results come directly from user submissions, RateADrug.com is, to the fullest extent possible, free of conflicts of interest or industry bias. RateADrug.com does not accept advertising from pharmaceutical companies, partner or share information with any drug companies or manufacturers, nor do they advocate or recommend any particular prescription drugs or therapies, according to their website. Their ultimate goal is to create the world’s largest database of unbiased user generated information about prescription drugs and medical therapies.

March 17, 2009. Mashable.com Get the Real Scoop on Prescription Drugs and their Side Effects

So your doctor has just prescribed you a new medication to address whatever it is that’s ailing you. How do you know what the side effects might be? Sure, your doctor will probably explain them and you can read the label, but what do real users have to say? Will it make you see blue, cause indigestion, or simply zonk you out and make you think you’ve been fishing all day? That’s where RateADrug comes in.

The site allows users to share their own experiences with different prescription drugs, ranging from Ambien, to Zoloft, to yes, Viagara. And, the feedback is extremely detailed, providing average scores (on a 0-100% scale) users have submitted for each possible side effect, like weight loss/gain, drowsiness, or dry mouth. Each drug also has a comment area, where you can get details on user’s ratings and highly specific side effects.

For example, under Zoloft, one comment reads: “[Zoloft] actually changed my life. Effectively lifted my depression and has allowed me to finally function normally. The only major side effect i’ve noticed is that when I miss several doses in a row, I get dizzy and my balance is off. This goes away when I resume taking it, though, and is a small price to pay for what it has done.” Meanwhile, users report mild breathing difficulties and movement problems while on the drug, but overall, rate it “very” and “extremely” effective at treating depression.

Most of the feedback on RateADrug is anonymous, which, isn’t surprising since most people don’t want the world knowing what medications they’re on. It also means that ratings and reviews could potentially be manipulated by the drug companies, though RateADrug makes a point of saying that they do not accept drug companies as advertisers, unlike other popular medical information sites.

There’s lots of interesting data on RateADrug, and if you rate drugs yourself, you’ll get comparative data of how your experience compares to other users on the site. Much like PriceHub, which we reviewed yesterday, it’s not so much that RateADrug is providing information that isn’t already out there, but by building its database around submissions from real users, it’s providing another data point worth checking out when making a serious decision about your health.

February 14, 2009. Healthnews.com Tapping Internet Health Resources

There was a time when most Americans played an inconsequential part in their healthcare, relying primarily on their health care provider to make decisions regarding their well-being. But the days of a patient putting their lives into their doctor’s hands are over. Today, people are increasingly taking back the power over their healthcare experience—partly by doing their own research.

The internet is a valuable source of health information. An online search can provide answers to common health concerns, such as ways to protect against illness, what illnesses people in a particular age and race group are most vulnerable to, and the cause, symptoms, and treatments for illnesses. You can also get to know vitamins, minerals, supplements, natural remedies, and prescription drugs.

Care must be taken, however, to use only reliable sources and ones that are not biased by pharmaceutical or corporate objectives. For example, ConsumerLab.com (CL) provides independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness, and nutrition products. Since its founding in 1999, CL has tested more than 2,100 products, representing over 350 different brands and nearly every type of popular supplement. And, since CL has no interest in any of the companies they evaluate, you get truly independent and unbiased findings. Access to the testing results and other information does require a membership.

RateADrug.com is another independent company designed to help the public become more proactive with health issues, but with an added twist. At RateADrug.com, patients can rate and review prescription drugs they take and view other people’s experiences, anonymously and with no fees. Users can currently review or submit ratings on over 7,000 prescription drugs and alternative treatments. By taking a quick 5-minute survey, patients can receive personalized side effects and benefits of their medications. And because the results come directly from user submissions, RateADrug.com is, to the fullest extent possible, free of conflicts of interest or industry bias. RateADrug.com does not accept advertising from pharmaceutical companies, partner or share information with any drug companies or manufacturers, nor do they advocate or recommend any particular prescription drugs or therapies, according to their website. Their ultimate goal is to create the world’s largest database of unbiased user generated information about prescription drugs and medical therapies.

October 9, 2008. Alternative Medicine Pioneer and Author, Nancy Lonsdorf, MD, Helps Launch New Prescription Drug Ratings Website.

RateADrug.com is pleased to announce that Nancy Lonsdorf, MD has joined its Scientific Board of Advisors.

Dr. Lonsdorf is a leading expert in Ayurvedic Medicine and other alternative approaches to health care and herbal prevention therapies. She has been named by the Chicago Tribune as "one of the nation's most prominent Ayurvedic doctors."

Dr. Lonsdorf received her Medical Degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and her residency training in psychiatry at Stanford University. She is the author of A Woman's Best Medicine and The Ageless Woman: Natural Health and Beauty After Forty. Dr. Lonsdorf lectures extensively about issues regarding both Western and Eastern approaches to health care.

"We are delighted to have Dr. Lonsdorf join RateADrug.com," says Mark Deuitch, RateADrug.com founder and CEO. Our goal has been to attract the smartest people from all sectors of health care, including scientists, clinicians, MD's, and alternative practitioners like Dr. Lonsdorf.

"Dr. Lonsdorf's scientific expertise in medical ethics, alternative and holistic medications, and conventional prescription drug treatments will help RateADrug.com achieve its goal of creating the world's largest database of unbiased user generated information about prescription drugs and other medical therapies," Deuitch continues.

"Health care is changing and will continue to change dramatically, whether the John McCain or the Barack Obama health care plans get implemented," Deuitch adds. "The one constant in health care is the need for greater creativity, discovery, and transparency in dealing with the effectiveness and potential negative side effects of prescription drugs and other medical treatments."

Deuitch says, "RateADrug.com's technology uses the web to provide innovative large scale user generated information to help identify long term occurrences of positive and adverse reactions in medical treatments. Our goal is to allow users to compare different treatments for common illnesses effectively on the basis of post clinical trial experiences and data from actual users."

About RateADrug.com:

RateADrug.com develops and maintains information technologies for users of prescription drugs and other therapies. The site http://www.rateadrug.com allows users to view and rate experiences on over 3,000 prescription drugs including Lipitor, Plavix, Viagra, Lexapro, Zoloft, Cialis, Vytorin, Provigil, Yasmin, Meridia, and other popular brands. Its information is collected from a highly diverse population of prescription drug end-users. RateADrug.com does not accept advertising from pharmaceutical companies.

Mr. Deuitch is also the founder of http://www.fastdue.com, a web based suite of online productivity and cost management tools for professionals and small businesses.