New websites streamline data on drugs, medical devices.

In her Wall Street Journal (1/31, Subscription Publication) "Health Journal" column, Melinda Beck writes, the US Food and Drug Administration has an abundance of information on "adverse event" reports for many prescription medications but that information was not easily accessible until recently. One start up company called AdverseEvents Inc has gathered information from the FDA's database so an individual can search its website for adverse event reports for some 4,500 medications. A second start up, called Clarimed LLC, also compiled data from the FDA, but its database is on 130,000 medical devices. Both companies launched their online websites back in September to help empower patients.