Your Health, In Your Hands
Expand All Guide SectionsEvaluating Online Health Information
The Internet can be a great place to find health information, but because health is a serious topic ... read more »
Top Health Web Sites
The Web is host to a substantial number of reliable, comprehensive health sites. If you know what ... read more »
Health Insurance Options
Anyone not covered by an employer's insurance policy appreciates what a luxury health care can be. ... read more »
Find a Local Doctor or Dentist
It's important to have a good relationship with your doctor, and it's doubly important to select ... read more »
Talking to Your Doctor About Your Health
Although it's easy to think of interactions with your doctor as more akin to lectures than ... read more »
Learning About Medicines
All medication, whether prescribed by your doctor or received over the counter, is accompanied by directions for use. These could be a doctor’s or pharmacist’s verbal instructions, their directions scribbled on a piece of paper, a label on the bottle, or even text on the back of the box. And although these instructions may be helpful in telling you how to take the drugs, chances are you haven't been fully briefed on what the drugs are or how they work. The following Web sites will help you answer some important questions: What is my drug and how does it work? How do I take it properly? Where can I find usage information, warnings, and precautions for specific drugs?
Dulcinea's Insight
- Among the many valuable resources on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's site are tips and other consumer information about buying medication and medical supplies online. Tips include buying only from licensed domestic pharmacies and only from sites that require a prescription and have staffed pharmacists to field questions. Also review the privacy policy to be sure they keep your credit information safe.
- Low-income families can be eligible for subsidized medication. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) pairs low-income patients lacking prescription drug coverage with private and public programs organized by pharmaceutical companies, health care providers, doctors, and patient advocacy organizations, to bring them free or cheap medication. Once at the site, select the "Patients" section. To begin, you'll be asked to list the medication you take. Then you'll get a list of participating programs. Eligibility for these programs generally requires an extremely low level of income.
Dulcinea's Picks
