Consumerist
-
health care
The Best States For Health Care
A new report has been published that ranks the quality of health care for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It's not looking too swell for people who live in the South. More » -
medicine
Find Flu Shot, Cheap Generics With Medtipster
Medtipster is a website that locates nearby sources of discount generic versions of prescription drugs, as well as flu and other immunization shots. You enter the drug (or shot) you're looking for and your zip code and it spits out a list of nearby pharmacies. Currently they don't list H1N1 vaccination sources, but they say they're going to add that info as soon as it becomes available. More » -
contamination
Tylenol Voluntarily Recalls Children's Medicines
Concerned about bacterial contamination, Tylenol is recalling certain children's liquid medication products manufactured during a certain period in 2008. While the risk of infection is low when the medicines are ingested, still: eww, bacteria. More » -
delicious
Candy or Medicine?
I suppose we can't expect little kids to tell the difference, huh? The University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital and the Finger Lakes Regional Poison & Drug Information Center created this chart to help you grown-ups test your ability to identify delicious candies vs pharmaceuticals. It must have been sort of fun to find ones that matched. More » -
insurance
Get On A Plane, Go To Your Surgery
We're not sure if this is the start of a trend or just some very creative cost-cutting by a few companies, but Business Insurance notes that some self-insured firms are now sending their employees to other states to save money on medical procedures. More » -
tools
Keep Track Of Your Prescriptions With This Free App
If you have to take meds, you know that one of the big issues is watching out for potential drug interactions—the last thing you want is to pass out at the supermarket from uncontrollable flatulence and a sudden onset of glaucoma. Consumer Reports has developed My Medication Tracker, a free desktop app that lets you privately keep a record of your medication history (and related costs), as well as watch out for potential interactions.
More »
-
healthcare
New Website Compares Healthcare Prices
Healthcare Blue Book, a new for-profit website, allows prospective patients to find "fair prices" on surgery, hospital stays, doctor visits, and medical procedures. The audience here is people who either don't have insurance, have a high deductible, or are considering medical treatments that their insurer won't cover. More » -
readyfill
CVS Will Automatically Refill Your Prescription, Consent Be Damned
CVS pharmacies apparently don't need consent to enroll customers in ReadyFill, a program that signs customers up for the maximum allowable number of prescription refills and then robocalls them when their drugs are ready. According to a veteran pharmacist, the automatic enrollments began after CVS' corporate office set specific performance targets that would affect bonuses for managers and pharmacists. Inside, the pharmacist tells us what ReadyFill is, how it works, and how to escape those annoying robocalls... More » -
-
science!
Blue Food Coloring Used In M&Ms Has Actual Medical Use
Now, you know what they say about green M&Ms. That isn't true. But have you heard what they say about blue M&Ms? That the dye they contain can help the body to repair damage from spinal cord injuries? That one's true. Oh, and the dye also turns rodents blue. More » -
simplicity
Help Remedies Delivers Medicine To The WebMD Crowd
A company called Help Remedies is offering basic drugs and first aid supplies with simple explanations. Sounds good, provided they remain focused on simple maladies. More » -
fda
FDA May Take Vicodin And Percocet Off The Market
Bad news for Dr. Greg House and other, non-fictional chronic pain patients. The FDA advisory panel that met yesterday about the effects of excessive doses of acetaminophen made another recommendation to the FDA—to take popular painkillers Vicodin and Percocet (and their generic versions) off the market because of the effect both drugs can have on the liver when taken for extended periods. The FDA will most likely follow this recommendation. More » -
drugs
FDA: Hey America, Stop Overdosing On Painkillers!
Look, we know this recession is tough and all, but you've gotta lay off the NyQuil and Theraflu or the FDA will stuff them behind a counter, ok? Seriously, an advisory panel is meeting today, and already voted to reduce the maximum daily dose of Tylenol and other painkillers. They might even slap scary "black box" warnings on all over-the-counter painkillers to dissuade you acetaminophen addicts from overdosing. More » -
human terrariums
Mayo Clinic: Coming Soon To The Mall Of America
The Mayo Clinic is planning on opening a clinic at Minnesota's enormous Mall of America as part of the mall's expansion. It's unclear what services will be offered, although speculation includes basic screenings, health education, and processing for Mayo's larger facilities nearby. We don't know what's scarier: that this is one step closer to Idiocracy, or that the Mall of America is planning an ominous-sounding "Phase II Expansion."
More » -
comparative effectiveness
Older Drugs Can Be Just As Good And Cheaper
Newfangled doesn't necessarily mean that much better, especially when it comes to taking medicine. Getting prescribed the latest and greatest pill could mean you're paying more when there's a perfectly good drug out there that can do the same job, minus the jacked-up new drug patent cost. Vanguard says: More » -
insomnia
Can't Sleep? Your Best Bet Is Probably Cognitive Behavorial Therapy
Chronic insomnia is one of those life-altering problems that seems minor at first, but builds up over time until it's negatively affecting everything in your life. The New York Times has a new article up about cost effective ways to treat it, including generic Ambien (so you can have generic sleep-sex, we guess). The treatment that seems to show the most promise is cognitive behavioral therapy, or C.B.T. Sessions cost between $100-150 each, but if your insurance won't help, there's an online self-guided version of C.B.T. for $25. More »
-
your drugs are ready
"Why Is CVS Automatically Refilling My Prescriptions?"
Bill wants to know why CVS interprets a prescription with refills as a prescription that should definitely be refilled.
More »It took three calls from CVS' automated reminder service for me to realize what was going on: CVS Pharmacy was refilling our prescriptions without our asking for them to be refilled, and then their automated dialer was calling us to notify us that we had a prescription waiting. Nobody in my family requested to have a prescription refilled, yet three times CVS called us to tell us to come and pick up our prescription.
-
insurance
CVS Can't Get Its Billing Straight, Tells Patient He Has To Pay For His Own Kidney Transplant Meds
Chris has to take the immunosuppressant drug Prograf because of a kidney transplant, and it costs nearly $300 for a one month supply. Yesterday, he found out that someone at CVS corporate has instructed his local pharmacist to start billing him directly, apparently because his secondary insurer hasn't been paying for nearly two years. More »
medicine
New York, 1:27 PM
Tue Nov 10
18 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
