Patient information internet sites

Knowledge of the seriousness of adverse health effects due to tobacco use is helpful in motivating a user to quit, as well as maintaining abstinence. Physicians who advise their patients to quit smoking can produce cessation rates of 5-10%. Thus, education plays a critical role in tobacco cessation for all ages. A variety of self-help materials (books, tapes, pamphlets, newsletters, software, and Internet sites) are available to inform and aid in quitting tobacco use. 

The pharmacist must be alert to the occurrence of falsified medicinal products (counterfeit) and is aware of his role in preventing falsified medicines reaching the patient. Patients should be informed of the dangers of ordering medicinal products through internet sites which have not been validated. 

Clues that patients are distressed include requests for anxiolytic medications and increased use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (16). When encountering patients who request anxiolytic medications, primary care clinicians should be able to provide brief counseling and educational materials in the office, as well as information about how to find additional educational materials through appropriate sites on the Internet (28,30,32). For example, the National Alliance for the Mentally lU (NAMl) Web site at http //www.NAMl.org (last accessed 3-05-06) has outstanding... 

The Internet can provide the in-depth content seen in print advertising, the real-time impact of television, the immediate response of direct mail and the mass reach of outdoor advertising (Randle, 2003). It is estimated that about 25% of online information is related to health, over 50% of adults who use the Internet use it for healthcare information and a quarter of patients who go to disease-specific web sites ask their doctors for a specific brand of medication in the United States (Matthews, 2001). Online marketing includes... 

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