Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is SmartMEDinfo?

A: SmartMEDinfo is an unbiased medical consumer information website. It gives the straight information about what’s known and not known about the safety and effectiveness of treatments/drugs. The site doesn’t avoid unpleasant facts about drugs and drug makers. This kind of factual information cannot be found on other big medical websites.
[Find out more about commercial influence on the web.]

Q: What kind of medical information can I find out on SmartMEDinfo?

A: SmartMEDinfo puts you in charge of your health care.
Medical News: Click on SmartMEDinfo.com to get a concise summary and interpretation of the latest-breaking medical news, FDA announcements and new drug warnings, free of the usual reporting bias.

Doctor’s blog: Keep pace with what our lead doctor is uncovering and ongoing helpful tips she gives about how to be in charge of your health care.

LowDown™: Here you will find short videos and in depth articles providing information that your medical doctor may not be telling you or may not know. Explore the expanding library of articles and videos explaining the controversial sides of conventional medical advice.

Fact Files™: Look up individual fact sheets on common prescription drugs, and find out what the drug does, what’s known and not known about its safety, and how well it actually works (or not).

How to be a Smart Consumer: Watch the introductory video and see the series of brief articles for an orientation to your rights and responsibilities as a smart health care consumer.
[view article index]

Q: Why is this necessary?

A: There is an urgent need for unbiased consumer medical information that is easy to understand.

Hidden influences on your doctor’s recommendations: Doctors rely heavily on drug company or device-maker brochures to get their information. Even medical journals and continuing medical education seminars are strongly influenced by their advertisers - the drug companies. Your doctor is not likely to be aware of any safety issues beyond what the pharmaceutical companies tend to provide. What does your doctor personally know about the safety of the drug? How long was it tested? How long were patients followed after taking it to determine if they developed bad effects? Have there been any new reports of side effects? SmartMEDinfo will give you information your doctor has not been telling you, or perhaps just does not know.

You are being heavily persuaded to take certain drugs: It is no secret that the majority of patient requests for medications come from “direct to consumer advertising”. It is not as well appreciated that the overwhelming majority of consumer medical information websites are directly or indirectly funded by drug company manufacturers and distributors. What this means to you is that most drug information you get is slanted to get you to buy their drug.

So-called “consumer groups” are not what they seem: Patient support groups and non-profit foundations are commonly told what to do and say by their generous drug company sponsors. Their goal is to increase sales of whatever drugs are supposed to treat that condition, whether or not they have been FDA approved for it. There has long been a need for unbiased, straight talking doctors and pharmacists who have the patients’ interests at heart. This is what you get at <strong>SmartMEDinfo</strong>.

Q: Doesn’t the FDA assure that all of our medications are safe and effective?

A: No. There are many things that the usual consumer does not know about the FDA.
The FDA does not do any drug testing: Most patients do not realize that all of the studies submitted to the FDA for drug approval are done by the drug makers themselves. There is typically no independent study reviewed by the FDA. In other words, the very company that stands to profit is the one who comes up with studies that show their drug “works” and is “safe”.

FDA approval committee members have conflicts of interest: The members that sit on the advisory committees that vote to approve new drugs are commonly in the pay of the makers of the very drugs they are voting on. Even though there are rules against this, “waivers” are commonly granted. SmartMEDinfo gives you this information.

Drugs are prescribed for things other than what they were approved for: 41% of prescriptions are given for something that they were not FDA approved for; this is called “off label” prescribing.  Doctors do not routinely tell you that they are giving you a drug that has not passed the testing for your specific condition, and they don’t tell you that it was FDA approved for something else other than what you have. At SmartMEDinfo you can find out what your drug is actually approved for.

The FDA does not keep doctors informed: Whenever there is a very serious drug reaction the FDA is supposed to require the drug maker to send out “Dear Doctor” letters to every doctor in the country. But sometimes they don’t, such as the new homicide warning went on the package insert for Wyeth’s Effexor© - incredibly, the FDA did not require any letter to doctors. Therefore, unless your doctor personally reads the FDA website every day, he or she will not even know of drug warnings to give you. SmartMEDinfo keeps you informed, even if your doctor is not.

Inadequate drug side effect reporting system: Unlike other countries drug regulatory systems, the FDA’s drug side effect reporting system, MedWatch, is totally passive. That means that there is no requirement for doctors to report serious drug side effects, even deaths, to the FDA. It is estimated that only 1% to 10% of all drug side effects ever get reported to MedWatch. SmartMEDinfo keeps track of the latest side effect reports.

Q: Why should I pay for a SmartMEDinfo subscription when I can look up medical information for free?

A:  By actual survey, over 95% of medical information websites have a significant slant, because they are bankrolled by companies selling drugs or medical devices. This may be obvious or not so obvious on the website. People who are looking for straightforward information usually do not realize that what they are reading is influenced by drug money.
[See: Who’s Giving Out Medical Information on the Web]

Q: How is SmartMEDinfo funded?

A: We are a private company funded entirely by subscriptions from smart consumers like you. At SmartMEDinfo there is no drug company financing. The physicians and pharmacists at SmartMEDinfo have a keen interest in patient well being. We are not in the pay of any drug manufacturer and hold no stocks or interests in any pharmaceutical company.

Q: What inspired the creation of SmartMEDinfo?

A: For several years the Medical Accountability Network hosted a website on topics relating to the ethical obligation of doctors to give patients full information about drugs and procedures. It was initially formed to encourage conversation in academic and professional circles, but the overwhelming majority of the interest came from patients themselves. We recognized the need for a consumer-oriented website that gave unbiased information in a way that could be understood by non-medical people. SmartMEDinfo answers that need. [Read more]

Q: Is my use of the site kept confidential?

A: Absolutely. We do not track any individual use patterns. Your employer or third party payer will never know from us if you personally have used the site. Our privacy policy also covers this.

Q: Will my email address be shared with anyone else?

A: No. Your data is yours and will not be shared with any third party. We will not share, sell or rent any of your personal information to anyone. Our privacy policy also covers this.

Q: What if I have a medical concern or medication that is not covered on the website?

A: We are constantly responsive to our subscribers, and will provide new articles and drug information based on request in the order the requests are received. SmartMEDinfo videos, LowDown articles and drug information Fact Files cover the most controversial and most common drugs and conditions. We select topics for the website based on the challenges they present to informed consent, choosing to cover some of the more controversial issues, or topics about which there is a lot of false or misleading information. Make a request here.

Q: What do SmartMEDinfo subscribers say about the site?

A: Subscribers to SmartMEDinfo have taken charge of their healthcare by finding out the facts about their asthma inhalers, Parkinson’s drugs, breast cancer treatment and more.
[Read their success stories here].

Q: I’m sold. How do I look up my own conditions and medications on SmartMEDinfo?

A: Individuals can subscribe by clicking here. Wellness groups, employers and medical providers can call us to setup an account. Our phone number is 512-350-2898.