TAMPA, Florida, July 20, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- MEDcounselor's Drug Information, Drug IDentifier and Drug Interactions Modules Help Consumers Take Medications Safely, Avoid Errors

Gold Standard/Elsevier, developer of drug information and medication management solutions, announced today that the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has licensed MEDcounselor ( http://www.goldstandard.com/pages/medCounselor.html?epm=1_1) Drug Information, Drug IDentifer and Drug Interaction modules for its consumer website, ConsumerMedSafety.org (http://www.consumermedsafety.org/). ISMP is a federally certified patient safety organization that focuses on preventing medication errors and adverse drug events, and offers legal protection and confidentiality for submitted patient safety and error reports.

"As the nation's only not-for-profit organization of physicians, nurses and pharmacists dedicated exclusively to safe medication practices, ISMP views Gold Standard's MEDcounselor modules as a valuable tool for empowering consumers to make informed medication decisions and becoming more engaged in their care," said Michael R. Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD, FASHP, ISMP's President. "Educating consumers via MEDcounselor supports ISMP in its quest to prevent costly medication errors and advance patient safety worldwide."

    MEDcounselor modules now available via ConsumerMedSafety.org include:

    - Drug Information: By typing in the first three letters of a
      drug's name, consumers can access medication information (such as
      uses, interactions and side effects) for every commonly prescribed U.S.
      prescription drug (e.g., Lipitor, Lexapro), plus herbals, vitamins,
      nutritional and over-the-counter (OTC) products. Written to comply
      with all national standards for Consumer Medication Information (CMI),
      the content is available in both English and Spanish.

    - Drug IDentifier: If tablets or capsules get separated from
      their original packaging, consumers can quickly identify them by
      entering the marking/imprint, which typically appears in the form of
      letters or numbers, and/or selecting from among close to 30 colors
      (e.g., red orange, blue) and 25 shapes (e.g., apple, bow-tie).

    - Drug Interactions: Consumers can access information related
      to potential interactions between prescription, OTC, herbal and
      nutritional products, as well as caffeine, food, tobacco and alcohol.
      Interaction alerts include color-coded severity rankings for improved
      user clarity.

"Gold Standard/Elsevier supports ISMP in its mission to educate the healthcare community and consumers on safe medication practices," said Marianne Messer, President of Gold Standard. "By accessing MEDcounselor modules on ConsumerMedSafety.org, consumers will get the vital information they need to take drugs safely, identify unknown tablets and capsules, comply with drug regimens and avoid serious medication errors."

Gold Standard licenses its MEDcounselor modules to pharmacies, consumer health information websites, online communities, health systems and managed care organizations. A specially created "Toolkit" allows organizations to integrate MEDcounselor modules with their existing healthcare content and add search functions and links to drug information from their own Web sites or applications.

"ISMP is truly in the vanguard, offering accessible resources to healthcare consumers who now, more than ever, demand speedy, accurate answers to their medication questions," said Gold Standard's Messer. "By partnering with ISMP and ConsumerMedSafety.org, Gold Standard has helped enhance a trusted online resource that millions of healthcare consumers use, value and revisit for life-saving medication insights."

For more information on MEDcounselor modules, please call +1-866-417-9150 or email goldstandard@elsevier.com. For more information on how consumers can help prevent medication errors and take their medications safely, visit http://www.ConsumerMedSafety.org.

About Gold Standard/Elsevier

Based in Tampa, FL, Gold Standard/Elsevier uses innovative technologies to provide a complete suite of drug information and decision support solutions. With a tenacious commitment to product quality, Gold Standard/Elsevier solutions empower healthcare organizations, professionals and consumers to meet the most pressing healthcare challenges, improve patient safety and ensure optimal outcomes. To learn more about Gold Standard/Elsevier, visit http://www.goldstandard.com.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult ( http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/), bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

About the Institute for Safe Medication Practices

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is an independent, nonprofit charitable organization that works closely with healthcare practitioners and institutions, regulatory agencies, consumers, and professional organizations to provide education about medication errors and their prevention. ISMP represents more than 35 years of experience in helping healthcare practitioners keep patients safe, and continues to lead efforts to improve the medication use process. ISMP is a federally certified patient safety organization (PSO), providing healthcare practitioners and organizations with the highest level of legal protection and confidentiality for patient safety data and error reports they submit to the Institute. For more information on ISMP, or its medication safety alert newsletters and other tools for healthcare professionals and consumers, visit http://www.ismp.org.

    Contact:
    Tom Reller
    Vice President of Global Relations, Elsevier
    +1-212-462-1912
    T.Reller@Elsevier.com

SOURCE Elsevier

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