I am an undernourished, allergic, schizophrenic transplant patient suffering from anxiety, a series of digestive disorders, high cholesterol, hypothyroidism and am heavily reliant on pain medication.

Okay…not really, but I did want to see how good iGuard’s drug safety and medication management system is at catching potential interactions and helping guide patients with multiple health conditions manage their medication.

One of the first things I liked was the fact that the service keeps track of my profile and how recently I’ve updated it.  This is especially important for patients with chronic conditions. As their healthcare team manages their conditions, side effects and overall health, the patient themselves may not remember to keep their own records current.

In the example above, you’ll see I’ve been prompted to update my profile -- in case any of my medications have changed, thereby providing an opportunity to catch a drug interaction or make me aware of new information regarding one or more of my medications.

The other thing I like are the easy to understand icons, clear identification of potential interactions, and in the case of Vytorin and Lipitor a Level 5 alert that I may be on a drug combination that could trigger serious, potentially life-threatening events.

The email also provides a nice safety summary that is easy to understand, with suggestions about which medications I might need to discuss with my doctor during my next office visit.

Another great feature is the “Recent Alerts” call out. iGuard’s algorithms have advanced to the point where my monthly email now includes FDA alerts and updates of relevant information relating to the drugs I’m (fictitiously) taking -- without the clutter of irrelevant information in which I have no interest.

Now here is the part that you may not know…iGuard was originally started and funded by Quntiles.  That’s right, the contract research organization (CRO) responsible for operating some of the world’s largest clinical trials for the drug manufacturers.

So, the answer to the question posed in the title of this post is “both.” iGuard is both a system to assist patients in managing their drug regimen and potential drug interactions and a rich recruitment database that can be mined and used to recruit for clinical trials.

For more information on iGuard, you can hit the official website at www.iguard.org. Additional information regarding their drug product rating feature can also be found on Jonathan Richman’s blog post on Dose of Digital.

 Thank you to everyone who voted in the Dosie awards on Friday! Thanks to you, the Roska Digital Blog has made it into the final round (one of just 5 blogs!)

Final round of voting began yesterday – and today I’m asking everyone again for their show of support and go to the Dose of Digital website and cast your vote. for Roska Digital in the Best Industry Observer Blog category (you'll have some scrolling to do to get to the ballot but I promise it's there).

The final round of voting closes April 14, so if you appreciate the content, want to receive more, and help keep a good thing going, please hurry and vote before the polls close.

It was both an honor and a pleasure to learn that the Roska Digital Blog has made it to the final round of voting in the Best Industry Observer Blog category. Created by Jonathon Richman, popular blogger and mastermind behind the Pharma and Healthcare Social Media Wiki, the Dosies recognize some of pharma and healthcare’s best efforts in social media. For more background on the contest, you can visit http://www.doseofdigital.com/#back.

It is thrilling to make it to the finals and be listed among bloggers I both follow and admire. Also included in the top five are the Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog, Pharmalot, ePharma Rx and Pixels & Pills – in other words, great company to be in!

And, I wanted to extend a personal thank you to all of our readers and followers for your continued support. For all of those who voted, passed to your networks, and virally spread the word to put us in the top 5 I extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’. And a special note of thanks is owed to Jonathan for his hard work in organizing and energizing the contest.

To learn more about the Dosie finals and to cast your ballot, you can visit the Dose of Digital site.

Voting ends 4/14 and winners will be announced live during the upcoming BDI conference “Social Communications & Healthcare: Case Studies & Roundtables.”