Bulletin Board

In a minute

Looking for a credible mental health website for your patients? A website that promotes mental health and recovery through informed consumer choice and adherence to best practices in treatment guidelines? A resource with information that is evidence-based and in a language easy to understand by patients?

Then check out www.mentalhealthminute.com. This website is part of a project that is currently funded by the Canadian Council on Learning. It contains a series of multimedia resources, including audio segments, consumer-friendly treatment guidelines, podcasts, and vodcasts. It is intended to act as an “educational hub” of evidence-based information for consumers.

Project partners are the National Network for Mental Health (lead organization), Mood Disorders Association of Ontario, Participants Council of North York General Hospital, and the Ontario Association of Patient Councils. For more information, contact the project director, Dr Thomas Ungar, at tungar{at}nygh.on.ca.

Room to move

Want a cheap and simple way to solve emergency room crowding? Move the admitted patients awaiting a bed from the emergency department to the hallways of the inpatient wards. Developed in New York in 2001, this idea has been tried with success in Vancouver and is being implemented in Edmonton. In Alberta, patients will be moved to designated “flex” areas on inpatient units whenever the number exceeds 25% of available stretchers. In New York, this “full-capacity protocol” resulted in shorter waits in the emergency department and shorter stays in hospital for admitted patients. For more information, see www.capitalhealth.ca.

Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter

The latest Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter is available on-line at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/carn. Topics covered in this issue include the following:

• quetiapine—pancreatitis and thrombocytopenia,

• case presentation—telithromycin and toxic epidermal necrolysis,

• bitter orange (synephrine)—update on cardiovascular reactions,

• adverse reaction reporting for 2006, and

• summary of advisories from November 15, 2006, to February 14, 2007.

Advisories are available at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/advisories-avis/index_e.html. To receive this newsletter and health product advisories free by e-mail, join Health Canada’s MedEffect mailing list. Go to www.healthcanada.gc.ca/medeffect.

Bulletin canadien des effets indésirables

Le numéro le plus récent du Bulletin canadien des effets indésirables est disponsible à www.santecan-ada.gc.ca/bcei. Dans ce numéro:

• quétiapine: pancréatite et thrombocytopénie,

• présentation de cas: Télithromycine et nécrolyse épidermique toxique,

• orange amère (synéphrine): mise à jour sur les effets cardiovasculaires,

• déclarations d’effets indésirables—2006, et

• sommaire des avis affichés par Santé Canada du 15 novembre 2006 au 14 février 2007.

Les avis sont disponibles à www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/advisories-avis/index_f.html. Pour recevoir gratuitement par courriel le Bulletin et les Avis sur les produits de santé, inscrivez-vous à la liste MedEffet. Rendez-vous à l’adresse www.sante-canada.gc.ca/medeffet.