|
|
|
FDA Home | Search
FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact
FDA
Topics in This Issue:
For three years, the National Institutes of Health has operated ClinicalTrials.gov, an Internet data bank providing reliable information about ongoing studies of drugs and biological products regulated by the FDA. Now the site has posted its 1,000th clinical study sponsored by the private sector, a milestone FDA officials call "significant" because it complements agency goals to make critically important public health information available to patients and improve access to promising new therapies. Clinical trials are conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of new drugs, medical procedures, or other means of treating, diagnosing or preventing diseases.
All told, ClinicalTrials.gov lists about 9,000 federally and privately sponsored trials. Most of these are being conducted in the United States and Canada, but the site includes studies underway in 90 other countries.
Visitors to ClinicalTrials.gov can pinpoint information on the location of clinical trials, trial design and purpose, and how to participate. The site allows browsing by condition or by sponsor, and it functions as a gateway to other clinical trial information. It also contains a short course in clinical trials.
As part of its efforts to serve a growing population of Spanish-speaking consumers, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) has launched En Español, a Web site with vital information about research and health education on arthritis, rheumatic diseases and disorders of bone, skin, muscle, and connective tissue.
Many of the conditions covered on the site--lupus, arthritis and osteoporosis, for example--are chronic and can cause lifelong pain and disability. NIAMS considers outreach to the Hispanic/Latino community important because these conditions affect minorities and women disproportionately, both in increased numbers and increased severity of the diseases.
En Español also has links to dozens of helpful publications available either online or by mail and lists of contacts for questions about grants or clinical trials.
Other Spanish-language information related to the federal government is available from FirstGov.
People who are ill or have disabilities frequently must use home-care medical devices to help them cope with and treat their disorders. Device examples include wheelchairs, ventilators, blood glucose meters, and blood infusion pumps. Patients using these devices, or their care providers, may need training or other health care-related services to use and maintain their devices safely and effectively in their homes or elsewhere, such as at work or school.
To help patients get the most out of their home-care medical devices, the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health has created an online brochure containing a checklist covering all aspects of device operation.
For example, the brochure cautions that users should know as much as they can about how the device works. Users then can check off tips such as "read the patient education information," "keep instructions for use close to your device," or "pay attention to what the alarms and error messages mean."
Other topics covered in the brochure include:
Sure, it's happened to you before: You need a specific form to submit for a government service and you just can't lay your hands on it. Well, Uncle Sam, a site maintained by the University of Memphis, aims to end your frustration. It contains a list of the most requested government forms that can be downloaded.
What's on the list? Here's a sample of participating agencies and departments:
The site also includes a link to the FDA's "Public Use Forms" catalog, which offers forms for many FDA programs.
FDA.gov is written by John Henkel, a member of the FDA's Website Management Staff.