http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer Vimo’s blog for cost-conscious healthcare shoppers Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:17:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A New York Times editorial notes that two recent studies have found that older anti-psychotic drugs-used to treat schizophrenia and other mental health concerns-are just as effective as newer and far more expensive drugs in children ages 8 to 19.  The studies, which looked at Zyprexa, Risperdal ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=214 Los Angeles Times consumer affairs reporter David Lazarus has written an informative primer on some of the key differences between drugs and dietary supplements such as vitamins. The key difference: Unlike pharmaceutical drugs, which must go through rigorous testing to prove their safety and effectiveness, supplements don't ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=213 A good suggestion from the New York Times: Call your doctor's office for your test results. The Times cites a study published in the journal Quality and Safety in Health Care that finds that errors occurs in about one in four lab tests, and in 7 percent ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=212 Via The Health Care Blog comes news that Take Care Clinics will be offering $25 back to school physicals at their nearly 200 retail clinics. Although Take Care Clinics notes that the back to school physicals should not take the place of a traditional physical, the clinics ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=211 Via Jason Kottke comes news of ultra cheap, over the counter generic drugs available at Amazon. The online retailing giant offers over the counter drugs in bulk at a fraction of the price of Wal-Mart, Target and other large retail stores. For example, according to some numbers ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=210 A new clinical trial has found that Vytorin, a cholesterol drug with $5 billion in annual revenue taken by 3 million Americans, doesn't lower heart disease risk but may increase cancer risk. The limited good news from the trial is that, according to Business Week, is that ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=209 The Environmental Working Group has released a study finding that only a small percentage of commonly used sunscreens adequately protect consumers from sun exposure and potential skin cancers.  According to the study, just 15 percent of available sunscreens meet the group's standards for adequate protection against UVA ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=208 Medtral, a New Zealand based hospital, is one of the latest entrants into the growing medical tourism market, where officials hope that U.S. consumers will be attracted to low prices despite the country's higher standard of living. According to the Washington Post, patients at the privately owned ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=207 Over at Freakonomics, health writer Julie Salamon tells the story of a college student who, in response to a high fever, went to an emergency room, was given some Tylenol and charged $1,089.50. Naturally, Salamon points out that $1,000 for a Tylenol seems a bit excessive. In ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=206 Via Consumerist comes a list of supermarkets, pharmacies and other retailers who have begun offering customers low-cost generic drugs. At the moment, in addition to Target and Wal-Mart, the following pharmacies offer low-cost-in the neighborhood of $4 for a month's prescription-drugs: Safeway Kroger Fred Meyer Giant ... http://www.vimo.com/blogs/consumer/?p=205