Prescription drugs, social media style

The Internet is a beautiful thing.

Observe RateADrug.com.

RateADrug.com allows people to give their two cents about the overall effectiveness of the medications that they're taking or have taken in the past.

Each drug on the website contains an overall effectiveness rating. People can also rate positive and negative side effects, number of side effects and number of benefits. Then, each side effect and/or benefit is broken down into percentages of people who have experienced each effect.

This is definitely a step in the right direction. Consumer education is becoming easier and easier with the growth of the Internet and social media. Being able to see for yourself the effectiveness of a drug you're about to take based on your peers' experiences is a valuable form of education.

However, RateADrug.com also leaves room for error. Currently, not many users are contributing to the ratings, meaning the polling area is limited and results could be skewed. Also, until doctors and pharmacists get in on the action, the site lacks the credibility of sites like WebMD.

Like any source, I would use RateADrug.com as a supplement to whatever other research you're doing about a drug. The more you know, whether it's a doctor's advice or a user's personal experience, the easier and safer your decision-making process will be.