(NAPSA)—Aneducational tool for patients that simplifies and explains the new Medicare drug program has been created by The American College of Physicians (ACP) Foundation. The “Medicare Part D”tip clarifies sign-up deadlines and provides follow-up telephone numbers and Websites for more detailed information to help patients decode and simplify the complex new Medicare drug program. The “tip” is available at http://foundation.acponline.org/me dicaretip.htm. “This was designed as a handout for doctors of internal medicine (internists) and can be a helpful resource for all Medicare patients and caregivers advising Medicare patients about the new drug benefit,” said Jean Krause, CEO, ACP Foundation. The Medicare tip is the latest addition to the organizations HEALTH Tips education tools presented in user-friendly design, often with illustrations, and usually written at a fifth-grade-or-below reading level. The new tip is not intended to provide all of the information available about Medicare options and plans. The ACP Foundation tip provides just enough important information to orient patients and help them begin to makethe decisions ahead. The Medicaretip is available in English, with a Spanish translation plannedfor the future. HEALTH TiPS is a copyrighted educational tool of the ACP Foundation. Other easy-to-read materials available on the Web are a RX FoR CLARITY—Sign-up deadlines and phone numbers are provided to medicare patients. sheet to help patients describe pain, questions for patients to ask before beginning blood pressure medicines, and “Healthy Shelter Living” for people displaced by hurricanes. The ACP Foundation exists to support the mission of the American College of Physicians and to improve the health of the public through the creation and support of programsin education, research, service, and professionalism. A nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, the ACP Foundation works with other health organizations, the public and corporations. The American College of Physicians is the largest medical-specialty organization and secondlargest physician group in the United States. Membership includes more than 119,000 internists, related subspecialists, medical students, residents and fellows. Internists specialize in the prevention, detection and treatmentofill- nesses in adults.
