The Official Drugs.com Blog

Drugs.com reported a massive 20,900% increase (yes, you read that correctly – twenty thousand, nine hundred percent) in interest for information on the prescription medication Demerol – allegedly prescribed for the legendary entertainer Michael Jackson. More than 135,000 page views were logged on the Drugs.com web site by people researching Demerol this past Friday – the single biggest spike in daily interest for a medication since the similarly tragic and untimely death of Heath Ledger.

Demerol (meperidine) is a narcotic pain relieving medication. It works by dulling the pain perception center in the brain. Interest in the medication exploded from around 650 page views per day on average to 135,164 page views on Friday, June 26.

Aside from the amazing display of near real-time information dissemination triggered by this event, it would seem that recently deceased celebrities are inadvertently responsible for educating others about the potential dangers of prescription medications.

The passing of Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith also led to increased consumer research on medications such as OxyContin, Xanax, Valium, Ativan and Restoril. “We saw huge increases in page views for those medications, but the interest in researching Demerol surpasses anything we have seen before.” said Philip Thornton, CEO of Drugs.com.

While it is yet to be determined whether any prescription medication played a part in Michael Jackson’s tragic passing, the subsequent increased awareness may just help prevent unnecessary deaths due to the misuse of narcotic medications.

About Drugs.com
Drugs.com is the largest and most comprehensive drug information resource on the web with over 5 million unique visitors per month (ComScore, April 09). Providing free, independent, peer-reviewed, objective and up-to-date drug information at both consumer and professional levels, Drugs.com empowers patients and caregivers to take charge of their health and be more informed than ever before. The site includes many interactive tools to assist consumers and healthcare professionals such as a the new Mednotes personal medication records (PMR), a handy pill identification wizard, drug interactions checker and more.

More information at:
http://www.drugs.com and
http://www.drugs.com/demerol.html

For users that don’t require the power of our award winning Mednotes PMR (Personal Medication Records) system, here is an alternative way to keep track of your meds.

For the first time, Yahoo! users will be able to their create their own Personal Medication Record directly within My Yahoo! Combining a powerful application and fully featured widget, users will be alerted to warnings for any medication they take – including interactions between medications and any new or historical FDA alerts.

Try out the Yahoo! app here…

http://apps.yahoo.com/-JMOtEZ50/

Or try the full Mednotes system (free) here…

http://www.drugs.com/mednotes

To simplify accessing the site for mobile users, we have now consolidated all previous mobile versions of the site to use Drugs.mobi. Users will now be automatically served the most appropriate, optimized version for their mobile device including iPhone, Pre, Blackberry, Windows Mobile etc.

Simply visit http://drugs.mobi on your mobile device.

Drugs.com is one of only five websites that have been nominated for the 2009 Webby Awards in the Best Health Website category.

We are both honored and humbled to receive this nomination. 

Update: The ballot has now closed. A big thanks to those who voted for us.

Our simple Medicare Part D plan comparison tool will help lower your Medicare Part D spending. We search for the lowest cost medications on your behalf and show you a detailed listing of plans based on your personal needs. We also explain the complexities of Part D in an easy-to-understand way. Includes unique audio commentary from a pharmacist, plus answers to frequently asked questions.

Following on from our highly successful iPhone editions, we have now released our universal mobile edition for general beta testing. Simply go to www.drugs.com/m to visit on your Window Mobile, Blackberry, Android, Palm and other web enabled mobile devices. Versions available for both consumers and healthcare professionals with comprehensive drug information and a pill identification tool.

We now have our own twitter page for anybody who would like a quick and easy way to follow what is happening at Drugs.com. Check it out at www.twitter.com/drugscom.

The ever popular Pill Identifier has just been updated to include imprint and drug name suggestions, a visual shape selector, ordering by popularity or manufacturer, generic name listings and the ability to display up to 50 results per page. Also, related brand/trade name drug images are now listed after the initial results when searching for a generic drug image.

Suitable for all physicians and health care professionals, this free, professional version of Drugs.com is designed entirely around the iPhone interface framework. It delivers what we believe to be the fastest way to look up drug information. With predictive search, built in drug interactions, and warnings for almost all medications prescribed in the U.S., we hope this will become the mobile standard for medical professionals. Simply visit http://www.drugs.com/iphone/ to access the beta. You’ll need to register with Drugs.com to get full access. Enjoy.

Following on from our exceptional growth in 2007, Drugs.com is now the 3rd most searched health information brand on the Internet according to Hitwise – surpassed only by Web MD and the Mayo Clinic.