More Than Half a Million Patients Using New Drug Safety Monitoring Service;

                        30,000 More Register Weekly



    RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 6 /EMWNews/ -- More than half a

million Americans now have the safety of their medications automatically

monitored by iGuard.org, a secure, patient-driven drug safety service, with

more than 30,000 new patients registering weekly.



    Founded by drug safety researchers in October 2007, iGuard is a free

service that monitors medications and nutritional supplements. Committed to

promoting better communication and research about drug safety, iGuard.org

offers the enrollees personalized updates on drug-drug interactions,

drug-disease interactions, safety alerts and medication recalls. By using

the latest information from the FDA, drug manufacturers and structured

feedback from the rapidly growing iGuard community, iGuard has become the

most efficient and reliable drug safety monitoring service available for

consumers. Patients can register online at http://www.iGuard.org, or at a growing

number of healthcare clinics nationwide.



    Consumers Want Better Information About their Medications; iGuard.org

Delivers



    Today's 500,000-member milestone was achieved more than 12 months ahead

of schedule-less than 300 days after the service was launched, indicating

that the public is desperate for better information about the safety of

their drugs. The number of registered users is expected to grow

exponentially as 30,000 Americans register each week seeking to take

advantage of the new service.



    "Patients are tired of waiting for national drug safety and healthcare

IT initiatives to take shape," says Dr. Hugo Stephenson, iGuard.org's

founder and president. "Consumers don't want to be drug experts, wading

through layers of online information to get to what relates to them - or

managing complex medical records systems in order to stay informed. Most

patients simply want to be told when they need to watch out, so they can

get on with their lives."



    Christie Bilbo, a single mother in Louisburg, Mo., has multiple

sclerosis and takes numerous medications. "I registered all my medicines on

iGuard, and to my surprise I got an alert about a possible adverse

interaction that neither my doctor nor my pharmacist were aware of," she

says. "I was surprised at how easily iGuard works -when I get a safety

alert from iGuard, I know it's important and pertinent to my medications

and me."



    "The big concern is the number of potential adverse drug interactions -

especially when people receive prescriptions from multiple physicians, and

take supplements," said medical author and journalist, Kevin Soden, M.D.,

M.Ph.



    "The public is clearly hungry for information about the drugs that are

being prescribed for them and what kind of side effects or adverse drug

interactions these drugs may have; they want to be kept informed as

knowledge evolves. iGuard provides patient-driven service that offers

timely, accurate and personalized drug safety information for patients and

their physicians."

    About iGuard.org



    iGuard.org, headquartered in Princeton, N.J., is a free and secure

source of information for registered users who want to get informed, stay

informed and share feedback about their medications. It has received

critical support from patient advocacy groups concerned by the large number

of patients affected by serious, preventable adverse drug interactions. It

offers balanced and timely content to help patients manage their healthcare

for themselves or loved ones. Registration is free online at iGuard.org.








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Hugo Stephenson

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