“Pills, pills, pills” the focus of July 30 “On Call”
Contact: Tami Watson
Phone: (605) 688-5620
Friday, July 24, 2009
One is for headaches, one is for blood pressure, and another is taken to relieve depression. Prescription medications and other pills help us every day, but along with benefits come risks.
The July 30 "On Call®" program, will look closely at medicines and address the positive and negative roles pills play in our lives.
Medical editor Dr. Rick Holm and program producer and host Tami Watson will discuss polypharmacy with Dr. Paul Amundson, the medical director of Dakotacare, and with Bill Ladwig, vice president of Lewis Drug's pharmacy services program.
"Our guests will help us smartly discuss the problems associated with multiple prescriptions, and to answer questions about drug interactions," said Watson. "Viewers who have questions about pills and their risks, along with their benefits, will want to watch and call in with their comments."
"On Call" airs Thursdays on South Dakota Public Broadcasting-Television at 7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain. "On Call" is a weekly program about health produced by the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service.
During the live broadcast, viewers can call 1-888-DrOnCall (1-888-376-6225) with their questions about medications. Viewers also can e-mail their questions in advance of the broadcast by visiting the "On Call" Web site at http://oncall.sdstate.org/.
The South Dakota State Medical Association and the South Dakota Department of Health both endorse "On Call" and its programming. "On Call" is the only show to receive these endorsements.
The program is made possible by major underwriter support from Avera Health and the South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care. Additional sponsors include Dakotacare, Brookings Health System, the South Dakota American College of Physicians, Swiftel Communications, and the Friends of SDPB.
The Brookings Health System, Fishback Financial Corporation, and the Larson Foundation provide closed captioning for "On Call."
"On Call" will return to programming on Aug. 6 with an episode that will look at the pain and treatment of knee and hip injuries.
For more information about the program, visit the "On Call" Web site at http://oncall.sdstate.org/.
Jarett C. Bies, Associate WriterAgBio Communications Unit
South Dakota State University
ACC, Box 2231, Rm 200
Brookings, SD 57007
Telephone: (605) 688-4642
Jarett.Bies@sdstate.edu