HC411R  - Osteoarthritis Medication

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Debra: This is Healthcare 411.  A new guide may help you sort out which medication to take for your osteoarthritis.  More on this next 

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Debra:  This is Healthcare 411.  Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs, and Cox-2 inhibitors are commonly prescribed to treat osteoarthritis, and many people also take over-the-counter medicines.  How do you choose which is best?  Jean Slutsky, director of AHRQ’s Center for Outcomes and Evidence

Jean: You will need to discuss pain relievers with your health care provider who knows your complete medical history, but AHRQ has a new guide that will make that discussion more meaningful. The guide includes information on effectiveness, cost and potential side effects of these and other prescription drugs, as well as about Tylenol and over-the counter drugs and supplements.

Debra: AHRQ has also produced a similar guide for clinicians which includes more technical information about these drugs.  Both guides were developed through AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program created by the U.S. Congress to help patients and health care providers make choices among treatments for various health conditions.

Jean: Through the Effective Health Care Program, AHRQ-funded researchers evaluate the latest scientific studies about which medical treatments work best.  In creating the program, Congress emphasized the need to provide information in different levels of detail for different audiences.

Debra:  Both guides are free and available online at www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov.

To learn more about this and dozens of other health topics go to healthcare411.org.

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Debra:  I’m Debra James. 

Healthcare 411 is produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.