In this report
About the Project
Mission Statement
About our Reports
Methods
Rx Information
FAQs
Funding
Staff
Best Buy Drugs Partners
Medical Professionals
Press
Contact Us
Linking to or Licensing Content
Important Note to Users
Help Spread the Word
For People on Medicare

Medical Professionals

This page is for doctors, pharmacists, health professionals, health administrators, educators, and counselors.

Consumer Reports Health Best Buy Drugs is a grant-funded public information project administered by Consumer Reports, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. The reports and publications on this Web site are written for consumers. Their intent is to deepen consumers' knowledge and understanding of their prescription drug options and choices. They aim to enhance communication between consumers and health care professionals.

Our reports are based on systematic reviews of the scientific research. These reviews are conducted under the auspices of the Drug Effectiveness Review Project, a unique initiative funded by 13 states. The actual reviews are conducted by teams of researchers at several "Evidence Based Practice Centers" (EPCs), which are selected to perform this kind of work by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The EPC at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) coordinates the DERP Project.

If you have not heard of DERP, we refer you to their excellent Web site: http://www.ohsu.edu/drugeffectiveness/description/index.htm. This site contains the detailed drug reviews on which our reports are based.

The DERP reports undergo extensive peer review before final publication. Our drug class reports, which render the lengthy DERP analyses into language and a context that consumers can understand, undergo a separate peer review process. Indeed, Best Buy Drug reports are produced independently of DERP although, under contract, one of the leading DERP researchers at OHSU helps us "translate" the DERP reports into a consumer-friendly form.

Consumer Reports bears sole responsibility for the content of our reports and our recommendations.

We encourage you to tell your patients or clients about Best Buy Drugs. If you are interested in distributing our reports or other publications in your office, or by other means, Click here to contact us.


Our Outreach Program

The Best Buy Drugs project had an outreach component in Arizona, California, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Minnesota through 2007. The following contacts can provide you with information about any ongoing efforts related to Best Buy Drugs.


Materials Available for Outreach

  • A brochure describing and explaining the Best Buy Drugs project
  • Posters (11x14 and 20x30)
  • A 10-minute DVD on Best Buy Drugs, with two physicians and a pharmacist
  • A DVD with presentations from a March 2006 conference describing Best Buy Drugs in some detail.
  • Printed summaries of all our drug reports in English and Spanish

If you would like to order any of these materials for outreach to a group or organization, please Click here to contact us


Watch video explanations of the Best Buy Drugs project

Clicking on the title will launch the described video clip. Each is about 10 minutes long and feature experts involved with our work.

Why did Consumers Union create the Best Buy Drugs project?

  • Health Policy Director Gail Shearer explains our mission - helping consumers navigate the often confusing and costly prescription drug marketplace with unbiased information about drug effectiveness, safety and price.

The science behind our Best Buy Drug reports

  • The Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center finds the best-available scientific evidence about prescription drugs - and then thoroughly examines that evidence and reports on it. Those reports are part of the building blocks of the CR Best Buy Drugs project. Director Mark Helfand, M.D., M.P.H., explains the systematic drug review process.

What exactly is the Drug Effectiveness Review Project?

  • Created to help state Medicaid programs purchase drugs more wisely, this project considers the comparative effectiveness, safety and effects of drugs to treat a variety of illnesses. Deputy Director Mark Gibson, of the Oregon Center for Evidence-based Policy, discusses how the DERP project works.

How does Consumer Reports identify its "Best Buy" drug picks?

  • Managing Editor Steven Findlay lays out how he and his team develop the consumer-friendly prescription drug reports, as well as our "Best Buy" picks, from a wide array of scientific, safety and pricing data.

The physicians' role in evidence-based prescribing

  • Getting the best health outcomes for patients is a physician's top priority. C. Bernie Good, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Veterans Affairs, explains overcoming drug marketing influences and the 'new-is-better' bias to discuss the most effective and affordable medications with patients.

How pharmacists help inform consumers of effective, low-cost drugs

  • Buddy Harden, former CEO of the Georgia Pharmacy Assoc., sees consumers everyday who can't afford their medicines. He explains how he looks for effective low-cost alternatives, opens discussions with physicians and negotiates drug insurance plans.

Helping consumers without Internet access find Best Buy Drugs information

  • Bill Benson, outreach consultant, Health Benefits ABC

How consumers, patients react and use Best Buy Drugs materials

  • Cheryl Schramm, Kathleen McNulty, Atlanta Regional Council; Marta Erismann, California )

How your organization can spread the word on Best Buy Drugs

  • Lynn Ohman, outreach consultant