Over 40 million adult Americans suffer from sleep disorders, according to the National Sleep Foundation. To aid physicians and consumers on NeurologyLinx in finding trustworthy information about sleep apnea, insomnia, and other disorders, MDLinx recently developed a Sleep Disorders Resource Directory that provides the latest information about treatment recommendations, clinical trials, support services, and other related topics. This directory, as well as our others in various therapeutic categories, can be accessed by clicking on the "Resources" tab on any of the medical specialty, allied health, or patient sites.

A recent physician Internet study reported in EyeForPharma revealed that a growing number of U.S. physicians are electronically integrated, that is, they depend on Internet services to run a successful practice. The number of these physicians, called "Essential Integrators," increased by 48,000 in 2004 over 2003. The key finding from the study highlighted that physicians rely on practice management and Internet applications not only to streamline administrative tasks and to interact with patients, but also to communicate with pharmaceutical companies and health plans about drug information and patient education.

Online Spending Increases

Marketers have regained faith in Internet advertising after loosing trust in the medium when the dot-com industry collapsed, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. As companies across all industries have discovered new ways to use Internet ads, online spending has peaked. At the height of the dot-com era, companies tended to use the same creative ad units for print and online campaigns. Today, companies have found new uses for online marketing, using their Internet ads to complement, rather than mirror their offline ads. According to the article, online advertising, which is less costly than traditional marketing strategies, gives businesses the opportunity to track their customers, collect information about customer interests, and “build relationships, ask questions, and have a back-and-forth with consumers.”

The new guidelines, like earlier ones issued eight years ago, urge doctors to begin checking children for high blood pressure at age 3 during routine office visits, just as they do for adults.