- Consumer Reports

www.consumerreports.org

Consumer Reports’ Medical Guide provides limited consumer-friendly disease and drug information for free, and expanded information – and comparison ratings for various treatments – if you subscribe for $19 a year or $4.95 per month. Subject matter is limited to chronic (persistent) illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, skin conditions and many cancers.

The site’s content comes from two sources: BMJ Publishing, which publishes one of the world’s most respected and prestigious medical journals, and the American Society of Health System Pharmacists.

The Treatment Ratings tables, available only to subscribers and written by BMJ, are exclusive to Consumer Reports. The tables classify treatments as:

• Treatments that are likely to work;
• Treatments that work, but whose harm outweighs benefits;
• Treatments that need further study;
• Treatments that are unlikely to work;
• Treatments that are likely to be ineffective or harmful.

Unlike other Consumer Reports services, the Treatment Ratings tables do not provide a numerical score for various drugs or therapies. Instead, there is a sentence or two summarizing the conclusions, with medical journal references at the end of the page.

Subscribers are also able to access Drug Reports, an extensive list of medications by both brand and generic name. These are in a question-and-answer format and include questions like, “What should I do if I forget to take a dose?”

Non-subscribers can read the “Free Highlights,” short articles on how to manage your own health, and “CR Health Alerts,” which are mostly bulletins about drug side effects. Another free offering is a drop-down menu for articles on medical conditions. Links to Treatment Centers, which include “Child Health” and “Cancer,” take you to brief overviews on these subjects.

Consumer Reports has operated as an independent reviewer of products and services since 1936. The only advertising on the site is for other Consumer Report subscriptions and services.

Last modified: 20 Sep 2006.

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