Where to begin, for caregivers
Helping someone else keep track.
If you look after the medications and supplements of a parent, a partner or someone else in your care, the list grows quickly and nobody owns all of it. EBL can help you see what the trials say about each item. The decisions stay with the person and their clinicians.
Four steps
From a crowded pill box to one page.
Everything they take, on one list.
Prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and supplements, each with its dose and how often. Bottles in a drawer count. A check is only as complete as the list it is given.
Their list, checked.
The Medication and Supplement Check looks for documented interactions between items on the list and for nutrients a medication can lower. Every finding shows what it rests on. What you type into the check and the discussion sheet stays in your browser. It is not sent to EBL.
The cautions on each record.
Each graded record carries its own cautions, and the contraindications search looks up safety warnings across every supplement on the site. Timing in the trials shows when the trials gave each supplement, which can help when a pill schedule needs planning.
One printed page for each visit.
The Physician Discussion Sheet puts the list, the grades, the trial doses and the PMIDs PubMed ID: the permanent number the US National Library of Medicine gives a published paper. Each one links to that paper's record on PubMed. on one printed page that can travel to each appointment.
Worth knowing
Check who was in the trial.
Every graded record states the population a trial studied. A result in healthy middle-aged volunteers may not carry over to someone older, frailer or taking several medications. When the trial population looks nothing like the person you care for, that is a question for their clinician.
If something may be harming them, Safety and reporting lists the warning signs and how to report a problem to the FDA. In an emergency, call 911.
Further reading
Where to go after the basics.
A complete list is the most useful thing to bring.
Grades are set from the published evidence. Educational use only, not medical advice.