The Health Shopper

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 from Matt Thompson, regular Benadryl costs $0.22 a pill, the Wal-Mart equivalent costs $0.16 a pill, while the Amazon generic costs just $.02 a pill. 

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 the increase in cancer risk has not been proven conclusively, and since there is no clear cause for an increase in cancer risk and other trials have not shown similar results, it is possible that the results were ultimately a fluke.

Still, not good news.  A few months ago, the leading professional group for cardiologists recommended against prescribing Vytorin, though some patients are still on the drug.  Definitive proof about the drug's effectiveness is expected in 2012.

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 and UVB rays.  As the San Francisco Chronicle notes, sunscreens that offer inadequate protection can give people a false sense of security against skin cancer-including serious skin cancers such as melanoma-and provoke them to spend more time exposed to sun than they otherwise should.

For the organization's list of the most protective sunscreens, see here.

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 hospital receive greater privacy and improved care coordination from nurses, along with follow-up care that is often superior to American follow-up care. Although prices are higher than in common medical tourism destinations such as India, hospital officials say that prices are still below costs in Europe and the United States and that they hope patients will be attracted to the higher standard of living and opportunities to see the country.

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 defense of the hospital, prominent doctor and medical blogger Kevin, M.D. argues that the patient wasn't just paying for the Tylenol, but for the doctor's opinion and space in the hospital itself, and that the charge for the space and labor was fair.

Regardless of one's feelings on the matter, it's important to remember that hospitals-particularly emergency room visits-are expensive. As Consumer Reports points out in a new article on managing hospital visits: Save the ER for emergencies. For minor aches and illnesses, it's a better idea to look for an urgent care facility or call the family doctor first.

On the other hand, in a true emergency-such as sudden, severe chest pain, shortness of breath dizzying headaches, major blood loss-get to the hospital as soon as possible.  And don't drive yourself.

Check out the rest of Consumer Reports' advice here.