Gold Standard/Elsevier Promotes Medication Safety and Compliance via New MEDcounselor Languages with Consumer Medication Information in 12 Foreign Languages

TAMPA, Florida, August 23, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- MEDcounselor Languages Improves Communications With Low-English Proficiency Patients, Ensures Provider Compliance With Language Access Services (LAS) Requirements

Gold Standard/Elsevier, (http://www.goldstandard.com/) a leading developer of drug information and medication management solutions, announced today the launch of MEDcounselor Languages, a module that provides trusted MEDcounselor (http://www.goldstandard.com/pages/medCounselor.html?epm=1_1) consumer medication information in 12 foreign languages. The new MEDcounselor Languages will enable healthcare providers to help non-English speaking patients better understand their drug therapy, take their medications safely, and avoid potentially harmful errors.

Based on state regulations and customer requests, the new languages offered within MEDcounselor Languages include Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Creole (Haitian), French, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese - along with currently available Spanish and English. Additional languages will be available in 2011.

"MEDcounselor Languages help pharmacies and health systems meet the needs of culturally diverse populations while fulfilling government requirements and meaningful use criteria for Language Access Services," said Marianne Messer, President of Gold Standard. "By employing the power of MEDcounselor Languages, providers can enhance the care they provide, promote medication knowledge, compliance and safety, and help patients and their families to achieve better personal healthcare management."

Providers can experience MEDcounselor Languages by joining representatives from Gold Standard (booth #514) at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores' Pharmacy and Technology Conference (NACDS), Aug. 28-31, 2010, in San Diego, California.

MEDcounselor Languages are available as an added module to Gold Standard's Clinical Pharmacology, ( http://www.clinicalpharmacology.com/?epm=2_1) a point-of-care drug reference, and Alchemy, (http://www.goldstandard.com/pages/alchemy.html?epm=1_1) an integrated drug database and decision support engine.

MEDcounselor Languages offers peer-reviewed content on the most frequently used U.S. prescription and over-the-counter drugs (such as medication uses, interactions and side effects), printable patient handouts, and compliance with national standards for Consumer Medication Information (CMI).

For more information on MEDcounselor Languages and related modules, please call +1-866-417-9150 or email [email protected].

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).

    Tom Reller
    Vice President of Global Relations, Elsevier
    +1-212-462-1912
    [email protected]

SOURCE GOLD STANDARD and ELSEVIER