Your Health Now was a free, bi-monthly health magazine provided by Merck & Co., Inc.. The magazine was launched in September 2005 and was available by mail, online at YourHealthNow.com, and in doctors’ offices.
Every issue included articles on various health topics, updates on patient assistance programs, an “Ask the Doctors” section in which reader questions are answered by medical experts, and information on caring for your pet. The magazine was based on information from The Merck Manuals and reviewed by an independent board of medical professionals and patient advocacy organizations.
The Merck Manuals are medical reference books produced by pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. that cover a wide range of medical topics, including disorders, tests, diagnoses, and drugs. These manuals were originally developed in book form, and have been updated and converted to online multimedia formats that also include audio, 3D models, and animations.[1]
The first Merck manual, Merck’s Manual of the Materia Medica (1899), was a small reference book that became widely used: by the 1980s it had become the world’s best-selling medical text. Since then, several manuals have been produced, and are regularly updated. The titles include:[2]
* The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, commonly called The Merck Manual. This is the descendant of the 1899 book. The Merck Manual—Home Edition is a consumer edition, introduced in 1997. The Merck Manual of Patient Symptoms is a small printed reference summary of symptoms intended for medical students, physician assistants, and the like.
* The Merck Index is aimed at chemists; originally published in 1889, it predates The Merck Manual.
* The Merck Veterinary Manual, introduced in 1955, covers animal health care. The Merck / Merial Manual for Pet Health is a consumer edition.
* The Merck Manual of Geriatrics was introduced in 1990, focusing on health care for older patients. The Merck Manual of Health & Aging is a consumer edition.
The “Professional Edition”
The Merck Manual is recommended by librarians in standard references such as the “Brandon/Hill selected list of books and journals for the small medical library”[1], published by the Medical Library Association. It is also one of the cheapest medical textbooks on the Brandon/Hill list. The Merck Manual is published by Merck & Co., Inc. but created by an independent editorial board and peer reviewers. In addition to the hard-cover edition, the full text is available free on-line.[2]The Merck Manual is organized, like most internal medicine textbooks, into organ systems, such as heart, lungs, gastrointestinal system, muscular system, etc., dealing with each major disease of that system in turn, in the standard format of diagnosis (symptoms), prognosis and treatment. It condenses all of medical knowledge into 2992 pages, by emphasizing practical information of use to a practicing physician
The “Home Edition”
In 1997, it was re-edited in a consumer edition, The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Home Edition, and a second revised edition was published in 2003. In addition to the hard-cover and several paperback editions, the full text is also available free on-line. The Home Edition includes the full content of the Professional edition, except for details of tests, drug doses, and technical information for use only by doctors. It uses lay terms, with medical terms in parenthesis, because patients often want to learn medical terminology for further reading. Each chapter begins with an illustrated lay description of the normal functioning of the organ system. Unlike most patient material, The Merck Manual–Home Edition gives the poor prognosis and sometimes survival statistics of incurable and fatal diseases like lung cancer.
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