Chapter 3 - Drug Information Resources

Access Provided by:
Drug Information: A Guide for Pharmacists, 5e
Chapter 3: Drug Information Resources
Kelly M. Shields; Elaine Blythe
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, the reader will be able to
Differentiate between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of information.
Identify resources relevant to different pharmacy practice areas.
Select appropriate resources for a specific information request.
Describe the role of electronic resources in the provision of drug information.
Evaluate resources to determine appropriateness of information.
Describe appropriate search strategy for use with electronic databases.
Recognize alternative resources for provision of drug information.
Key Concepts
1. Tertiary sources provide information that has been filtered and summarized by an author or editor to provide a quick easy summary of a topic.
2. Various systems index or abstract literature from different journals, meetings, or publications; therefore, in order to perform a comprehensive
search multiple databases must be used.
3. There are several types of publications considered primary, including controlled trials, cohort studies, case series, and case reports.
4. At times even welldesigned searches of standard medical literature do not yield sufficient information to make clinical decisions or
recommendations. In these cases, alternative resources may need to be employed.
5. Understanding where to access information is only the first step in the provision of quality drug information.
Introduction
The quantity of medical information and medical literature available is growing at an astounding rate. The technology by which this information can be
accessed is also improving exponentially. The introduction of tablets, smartphones, and Internet resources has radically changed the methods and
technology by which information is accessed, but not the process of providing drug information.
Pharmacists are being asked daily to provide responses to numerous drug information requests for a variety of people. It is tempting just to select the
easiest, most familiar resources to find information; however, by doing that there is the possibility of missing new resources or limiting the
comprehensiveness of the information found. It is for these reasons that the systematic approach discussed in Chapter 2 is helpful in order to
streamline the search process.
Generally the best method to find information includes a stepwise approach moving first through tertiary (e.g., textbooks, fulltext databases, review
articles), then secondary (e.g., indexing or abstracting services), and finally primary (e.g., clinical studies) literature. The tertiary sources provide the
practitioner with
Downloaded general9:22
202313 information needed
A Your IP to familiarize the reader with the topic. This is also an opportunity for the practitioner to gain general
is 196.189.182.14
Chapter 3: Drug
information aboutInformation
the diseaseResources, Kelly M. Shields;
or drug in question, Elaine Blythe
which ultimately results in a more structured and productive search. Page 1 / 29
©2023 McGraw Hill. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Notice • Accessibility
If the information obtained in the tertiary resources is not recent or comprehensive enough, a secondary database may be employed to direct the
reader to review primary literature articles that might provide more insight into the topic. Primary literature often provides the most recent and in
easiest, most familiar resources to find information; however, by doing that there is the possibility of missing new resources or limiting the
comprehensiveness of the information found. It is for these reasons that the systematic approach discussed in Chapter 2 is helpful in order to Provided by:
Access
streamline the search process.
Generally the best method to find information includes a stepwise approach moving first through tertiary (e.g., textbooks, fulltext databases, review
articles), then secondary (e.g., indexing or abstracting services), and finally primary (e.g., clinical studies) literature. The tertiary sources provide the
practitioner with general information needed to familiarize the reader with the topic. This is also an opportunity for the practitioner to gain general
information about the disease or drug in question, which ultimately results in a more structured and productive search.
If the information obtained in the tertiary resources is not recent or comprehensive enough, a secondary database may be employed to direct the
reader to review primary literature articles that might provide more insight into the topic. Primary literature often provides the most recent and in
depth information about a topic and allows the reader to analyze and critique the study methodology to determine if the conclusions are valid (see
Chapters 4 and 5 for more information on critiquing the primary literature).
For some requests, it may be necessary to consult news reports or Internet sites to get background information before beginning the searching
process. Also, other resources, including experts or specialists in particular areas of practice, may need to be consulted. While the same general search
strategy can be used for most requests, the specific resources employed vary.
Often a search for information does not employ all of these steps and does not require the use of all three types of resources. For example, a question
regarding commercial availability of a product formulation, or mechanism of action, could quickly be found in a tertiary resource. The information
found there may be sufficient to conclude the search and provide a response. However, a question regarding the clinical trials supporting offlabel use
in a specific population will likely require a search of primary literature.
The type of requestor may also substantially influence the resources used to respond to a question. Generally, a request from a consumer or patient
could more appropriately be answered from available tertiary resources than from a stack of clinical trials. However, if the requestor is a prescriber
requesting detailed information about the management of a specific disease state and role of investigational therapies, provision of primary literature
may be appropriate.
The provision of drug information is continually expanding into new areas and technologies, which may impact selection of resources. For example,
increased patient use of dietary supplements and alternative therapies has left medical professionals seeking information on these topics.
Pharmacists are often expected to respond to questions about these topics and provide recommendations as to management of patients using these
therapies. Also increasing interest in the practice of veterinary pharmacy underscores the need for pharmacists to be able to practically apply drug
information resources for the benefit of animal patients, animal owners, and veterinary professionals. Additionally, the emergence of completely new
fields of practice, such as pharmacogenomics, offer opportunities for pharmacists to apply their training in less traditional roles.
Tertiary Resources
❶ Tertiary sources provide information that has been summarized and distilled by the author or editor to provide a quick easy summary of a topic.
Some examples of tertiary resources include textbooks, compendia, review articles in journals, and other general information, such as may be found
on the Internet. These references may often serve as an initial place to identify information, due to the fact that they provide a fairly complete and
concise overview of information available on a specific topic. These resources are also convenient, easy to use, and familiar to most practitioners. Most
of the information needed by a practitioner can be found in these sources, making these excellent firstline resources when dealing with a drug
information question.
The major drawback to print copy tertiary resources, however, is the lag time associated with publication, resulting in less current information. Medical
information changes so rapidly that it is possible that information may be out of date before a text is even published. Electronically available tertiary
resources have helped this situation; however, the requirement for information to be reviewed and summarized requires an inherent delay in
communicating new information. It is also possible that information in a tertiary text may be incomplete, due to either space limitations of the resource
or incomplete literature searches by the author. Other problems that can be seen with tertiary information include errors in transcription, human bias,
incorrect interpretation of information, or a lack of expertise by authors. For these reasons readers must judge the quality of tertiary references and
may need to verify the information in multiple sources. Some types of questions that should be considered when evaluating tertiary literature are
listed in Table 3–1.
TABLE 3–1.
EVALUATION OF TERTIARY LITERATURE
Does the author have appropriate experience/expertise to publish in this area?

Downloaded 202313 9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14
Chapter 3: Drug
Is the Information
information likely toResources, Kelly
be timely based onM. Shields;date?
publication Elaine Blythe Page 2 / 29
Is information supported by appropriate citations?
or incomplete literature searches by the author. Other problems that can be seen with tertiary information include errors in transcription,Access
human bias,
Provided by:
incorrect interpretation of information, or a lack of expertise by authors. For these reasons readers must judge the quality of tertiary references and
may need to verify the information in multiple sources. Some types of questions that should be considered when evaluating tertiary literature are
listed in Table 3–1.
TABLE 3–1.
EVALUATION OF TERTIARY LITERATURE
Does the author have appropriate experience/expertise to publish in this area?
Is the information likely to be timely based on publication date?
Is information supported by appropriate citations?
Does the resource contain relevant information?
Does the resource appear free from bias and blatant errors?
It is impossible to compile a comprehensive list of tertiary resources that are useful in all areas of pharmacy practice. Differences in practice settings,
available funding, patient populations seen, and types of information most commonly needed, all impact which tertiary resources should be available
at a specific practice site. The legal requirements for information sources available at a practice setting vary from state to state, but rarely will the
minimally required texts be sufficient to meet all information needs in a practice.
Another important factor in the selection of appropriate tertiary resources includes selecting a resource focused on the type of information needed for
a specific request or situation. For example, a very wellwritten and comprehensive therapeutics text may have very limited use in providing
information regarding pharmacokinetics of a specific drug. For this reason, it is important to consider the categories of requests received in a
particular practice setting to ensure that appropriate tertiary texts are available. Table 3–2 lists resources that may be useful for specific categories of
drug information requests.
TABLE 3–2.
USEFUL RESOURCES FOR COMMON CATEGORIES OF DRUG INFORMATION
Secondary
Type of Request Useful Tertiary Sources
Resources
General Product Major compendia,∗ Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs,3 product labeling MEDLINE®,
Information EMBASE®, IPA,
IDIS
Adverse Effects Meyler’s Side Effects of Drugs,4 Side Effects of Drugs Annual,5 product labeling, major compendia∗ Reactions
Weekly,
MEDLINE®,
EMBASE®, IPA,
IDIS
Availability of Dosage Forms Red Book,6 American Drug Index7 major compendia∗ _________
Compounding/Formulations Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy,8 Merck Index,9 A Practical Guide to Contemporary IPA, IDIS,
Pharmacy Practice,10 USP/NF,11 Trissel’s Stability of Compounded Formulations,12 Extemporaneous EMBASE®,
Formulations,13 Ansel’s Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Drug Delivery Systems,14 USP Pharmacists’ MEDLINE®
Pharmacopeia15
Dietary Supplements Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database,16 Review of Natural Products,17 Natural Standard,18 PDR EMBASE®,
Chapter 3: Drug Information Resources, Kelly
for Herbal M. Shields;
Medicine, Elaine
19 Trease BlythePharmacognosy20
and Evans’ MEDLINE®,Page
IPA, 3 / 29
IDIS
Dosage Recommendations Major compendia, Drug Prescribing in Renal Failure21 MEDLINE®, IPA,
Pharmacy Practice,10 USP/NF,11 Trissel’s Stability of Compounded Formulations,12 Extemporaneous EMBASE®Access
, Provided by:
Formulations,13 Ansel’s Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Drug Delivery Systems,14 USP Pharmacists’ MEDLINE®
Pharmacopeia15
Dietary Supplements Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database,16 Review of Natural Products,17 Natural Standard,18 PDR EMBASE®,
for Herbal Medicine,19 Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy20 MEDLINE®, IPA,
IDIS
Dosage Recommendations Major compendia,∗ Drug Prescribing in Renal Failure21 MEDLINE®, IPA,
(General and organ IDIS, EMBASE®
impairment)
Drug Interactions Hansten and Horn’s Drug Interaction Analysis and Management,22 Drug Interaction Facts,23 Stockley’s Reactions
Drug Interactions,24 FoodMedication Interactions,25 Drug Therapy Monitoring System,26 major Weekly, IPA
compendia∗
DrugLaboratory Basic Skills in Interpreting Laboratory Data,27 Laboratory Tests and Diagnostic Procedures28
Interference
Geriatric Dosage Geriatric Dosage Handbook,29 major compendia∗ MEDLINE®, IPA,

Recommendations IDIS, EMBASE®
Identification of Product Identidex,30 Clinical Pharmacology,31 Drugs.com, IDENTADRUG,32 Lexicomp,33 Facts & Comparisons®
eAnswers34
Investigational Drug FDA Web site (http://www.fda.gov),35 Clinicaltrials.gov,36 MedlinePlus,37 manufacturer Web sites Current
Information Contents,
EMBASE®,
MEDLINE®,
LexisNexis®, IPA,
IDIS
Incompatibility/Stability Handbook of Injectable Drugs,38 King Guide to Parenteral Admixtures,39 Trissel’s 2 Clinical IPA, IDIS,
Pharmaceutics Database,40 Extended Stability for Parenteral Drugs,41 Trissel’s Stability of EMBASE®,
Compounded Formulations,42 Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy43 MEDLINE®
International Drug Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference,44 Index Nominum,45 Internet Search Engines, Specific
Equivalency country resources
Method/Rate of Major compendia∗

Administration
Pediatric Dosage The Harriet Lane Handbook,46 Pediatric and Neonatal Dosage Handbook,47 Neofax,48 major MEDLINE®, IPA,
Recommendations compendia∗ IDIS, EMBASE®
Pharmacokinetics Basic Clinical Pharmacokinetics,49 Applied Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics,50 major IPA, EMBASE®,
compendia∗ MEDLINE®, IDIS
Pharmacology Goodman & Gilman’s: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics,51 Basic & Clinical Pharmacology,52 IDIS, IPA,
Brody’s Human Pharmacology: Molecular to Clinical,53 Principles of Pharmacology54 EMBASE®,
MEDLINE®
Downloaded
Pharmacy202313
Law 9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14
Pharmacy Practice and the Law,55 Guide to Federal Pharmacy Law,56 State Board of Pharmacy Web LexisNexis®
Chapter 3: Drug Information Resources, Kelly M. Shields; Elaine Blythe Page 4 / 29
sites
Teratogenicity/Lactation Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation,57 Medications and Mother’s Milk,58 Catalog of Teratogenic Agents,59 Reactions
Access Provided by:
Pharmacology Goodman & Gilman’s: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics,51 Basic & Clinical Pharmacology,52 IDIS, IPA,
Brody’s Human Pharmacology: Molecular to Clinical,53 Principles of Pharmacology54 EMBASE®,
MEDLINE®
Pharmacy Law Pharmacy Practice and the Law,55 Guide to Federal Pharmacy Law,56 State Board of Pharmacy Web LexisNexis®
sites
Teratogenicity/Lactation Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation,57 Medications and Mother’s Milk,58 Catalog of Teratogenic Agents,59 Reactions
Drugs during Pregnancy and Lactation,60 REPRORISK,61 major compendia∗ Weekly,

EMBASE®,
MEDLINE®, IDIS,
IPA
Therapy Evaluation/Drugs of Pharmacotherapy: a Pathophysiologic Approach,62 Pharmacotherapy Principles and Practice, Applied MEDLINE®,
Choice Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs,63 The Merck Manual of diagnosis and therapy,64 Harrison’s EMBASE®, IDIS,
Principles of Internal Medicine,65 Goldman’s Cecil Medicine,66 Textbook of Therapeutics,67 Conn’s IPA
Current Therapy,68 Medscape
Toxicology Information POISINDEX®,69 Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies,70 Casarett & Doull’s Toxicology: The Basic Science Reactions
of Poisons,71 Poisoning & Toxicology Handbook,72 Haddad and Winchester’s Clinical Management of Weekly,
EMBASE®,
Drug Overdose,73 TOXNET74
MEDLINE®, IPA,
IDIS, BIOSIS
Veterinary Medicine Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine,75 The Merck Veterinary Manual (MVM),76 Pet Place,77 Pet BIOSIS,
education,78 Pets with Diabetes79 Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook,80 Compendium of Veterinary EMBASE®,
Products (CVP),81 Exotic Animal Formulary,82 USP, Veterinary Medicine83 MEDLINE®
∗Data from Facts & Comparisons®,84 AHFS Drug Information®, Physicians’ Desk Reference® (PDR), Micromedex,85 Lexicomp®,33 and Clinical Pharmacology.31
A brief summary of selected tertiary resources is listed to provide examples of some resources that may be useful in the general pharmacy practice.
Information is provided about the features of the resource as well as the publisher and publisher Web site. While specific electronic resources may be
hosted at a different Web site, the publisher site will direct users toward the appropriate link.
This list is not comprehensive and reflects only a limited number of resources available. The Basic Resources for Pharmacy Education listing
distributed by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP)1 was utilized in selecting the resources described in this chapter; additional
commonly used resources in drug information2 were also included. These complete documents contain hundreds of other resources that may be
useful depending on practice setting.
GENERAL PRODUCT INFORMATION
AHFS Drug Information®
American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists®, http://www.ahfsdruginformation.com This drug information resource is organized by monographs
containing information on both Food and Drug Administration (FDA)approved and offlabel uses of medications. This resource is designated by the
U.S. Congress as an appropriate source of information for determining reimbursement of unlabeled uses of medications. Information about dosing in
specific populations is also included, as is a wide variety of general information about medications. Some information is also available about
compatibility and stability of injectable formulations. AHFS Drug Information is available in paper format (updated annually), an excerpted paper
format (AHFS DI®Essentials™), and a mobile drug reference version.
Clinical Pharmacology
Downloaded 202313
Gold Standard, 9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14
http://www.clinicalpharmacology.com This electronic database contains monographs of prescription and nonprescription products as
well as some dietary supplements. Tools within the database allow users to screen for drug interactions, create comparison tables for drug products,
determine intravenous (IV) compatibility (based on Trissel’s 2™ Clinical Pharmaceutics Database) and search for tablets by description or imprint
codes. Patient education information is available in English and Spanish. It is available online or as a smartphone application.
specific populations is also included, as is a wide variety of general information about medications. Some information is also available about
compatibility and stability of injectable formulations. AHFS Drug Information is available in paper format (updated annually), an excerpted paper
Access Provided by:
format (AHFS DI®Essentials™), and a mobile drug reference version.
Clinical Pharmacology
Gold Standard, http://www.clinicalpharmacology.com This electronic database contains monographs of prescription and nonprescription products as
well as some dietary supplements. Tools within the database allow users to screen for drug interactions, create comparison tables for drug products,
determine intravenous (IV) compatibility (based on Trissel’s 2™ Clinical Pharmaceutics Database) and search for tablets by description or imprint
codes. Patient education information is available in English and Spanish. It is available online or as a smartphone application.
Micromedex® 2.0
Truven Health Analytics, http://www.micromedexsolutions.com This electronic resource contains information about FDAapproved indications, off
label uses, pharmacokinetic data, safety information, and pharmacology. Multiple interactive tools are available to assess for drug–
drug/food/supplement interactions, incompatibilities, and pharmacokinetic adjustments. There is an additional toxicology section which allows
identification of drugs based on imprint codes and discussion of overdose management. Patient education materials are also included in this
database. This resource is available online as well as for mobile devices. Please note that on mobile devices it is available as both a full version and an
abridged application.
Facts & Comparisons®
Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., http://www.factsandcomparisons.com This reference contains information about prescription and nonprescription drugs
organized by drug class. Information is provided about specific agents, including inactive ingredients in commercial preparations. There are
comparative monographs of drug classes to help discern differences between agents of the same class. This resource is available via hardcopy, online
(Facts & Comparisons® eAnswers), and for mobile devices. The electronic version of this resource allows for an integrated search across a variety of
Facts & Comparisons publications (depending on subscription purchased).
Drug Information Handbook
Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., http://www.lexi.com This handbook is organized in brief product monographs, where information is presented regarding
clinical use, safety, and monitoring for a variety of drugs. Data are presented about FDAapproved and offlabel use of medications. There is a tablet
identification section as part of the electronic format. The resource also has several helpful appendices providing treatment options and comparing
agents in the same class. This resource is available via hard copy, online, and for mobile devices. The electronic versions allow for integrated searches
of various Lexicomp® products (depending on subscription purchased). The online resource also includes tablet identification features as well as
medication pricing information. This resource has also partnered with AHFS (described above) to offer an electronic subscription combining their two
databases in a seamless search.
Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs: An Interactive Approach to SelfCare
American Pharmacists Association®, http://www.pharmacist.com This text is organized by body system, focusing on those disease states for which self
care may be appropriate. Information is provided about comparative efficacy of various overthecounter (OTC) agents, as well as contraindications for
selftreatment, drug interactions, and other safety information. The use of treatment algorithms and patient care cases make this resource especially
helpful for students and new practitioners. The text is also available as an ebook.
Physicians’ Desk Reference®
PDR.net®, http://www.pdr.net This resource is a compilation of prescription product package inserts. Additional information includes contact
information for manufacturers, a list of poison control centers, and very limited tablet identification. The company maintains a Web site,
pdrhealth.com, which contains patient appropriate information. Information from the Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR) is also available online at
http://www.pdr.net or http://www.pdrhealth.com, or for mobile devices (PDRBooks®). In addition to the original PDR, there are a variety of focused
editions, including the PDR®for Herbal Medicines, PDR®for Nutritional Supplements, PDR®for Ophthalmic Medicines, PDR®for Nonprescription Drugs.
USP Dictionary
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, http://www.usp.org This is the official resource for determining generic and chemical names of drugs, as well as the
international nonproprietary name. Additionally, useful information such as chemical structure, molecular weight, Chemical Abstracts Services (CAS)
registry number, and a pronunciation guide is provided. This resource is also available in an online format and in print.
Epocrates®
editions, including the PDR®for Herbal Medicines, PDR®for Nutritional Supplements, PDR®for Ophthalmic Medicines, PDR®for Nonprescription
AccessDrugs . by:
Provided
USP Dictionary
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, http://www.usp.org This is the official resource for determining generic and chemical names of drugs, as well as the
international nonproprietary name. Additionally, useful information such as chemical structure, molecular weight, Chemical Abstracts Services (CAS)
registry number, and a pronunciation guide is provided. This resource is also available in an online format and in print.
Epocrates®
Epocrates, http://www.epocrates.com This family of electronic resources includes both mobile and online products. These resources include
information about drugs (monographs, interaction checker, safety data, tablet identification) and diseases (epidemiology, prognosis, treatment).
ADVERSE EFFECTS
Meyler’s Side Effects of Drugs
Elsevier Publishing, http://www.elsevier.com This reference provides a critical review of international literature in the area of adverse events. Chapters
are organized by drug classification; adverse events are organized by drug name and then by organ system within each drug. Information is provided
about adverse events and management.
Side Effects of Drugs Annual: A Worldwide Yearly Survey of New Data and Trends in Adverse Drug Reactions
Elsevier Publishing, http://www.elsevier.com This reference which is updated annually serves as a companion to the text Meyler’s Side Effects of Drugs.
A team evaluates international literature published each year identifying new information and summarizing that information in this resource.
Case Study 3–1
A 15yearold patient has recently been started on atomoxetine for treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. He is taking no other
medications. He has noted recently that his hair is thinning and wants to know if this might be drug related.
• What are appropriate tertiary resources to consult for a response to this request?
AVAILABILITY OF DOSAGE FORMS
American Drug Index
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com This reference contains brief entries, indexed by product and generic name, with information
about product use, available dosage forms and sizes, and manufacturer information. Several helpful charts are also available, including look
alike/soundalike medications, pregnancy categories, normal lab values, as well as common pharmacy calculations.
Red Book® (Red Book Drug Topics)
Truven Health Analytics, http://www.redbook.com This resource primarily contains data regarding prescription and OTC product availability and
pricing. There are also a number of tables listing information such as sugarfree, lactosefree, or alcoholfree preparations. Additionally, information
such as National Drug Code (NDC) numbers, routes of administration, dosage form, size, and strength are included. This resource is available in paper
copy and electronically within Micromedex® 2.0.
Compounding/Formulations
Some journals are especially useful for compounding formulations, for example, the International Journal of Pharmacy Compounding, U.S.
Pharmacist, or American Druggist.
Extemporaneous Formulations for Pediatric, Geriatric, and Special Needs Patients (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists®, http://www.ashp.org This resource is a compilation of published formulations with stability data.
Most products are oral formulations to reflect the unique needs of some pediatric patients. Information is also provided about legal and technical
issues in compounding practices.
Merck Index
Pharmacist, or American Druggist.
Access Provided by:
Extemporaneous Formulations for Pediatric, Geriatric, and Special Needs Patients (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists®, http://www.ashp.org This resource is a compilation of published formulations with stability data.
Most products are oral formulations to reflect the unique needs of some pediatric patients. Information is also provided about legal and technical
issues in compounding practices.
Merck Index
Merck & Co., Inc., http://www.merck.com This resource provides descriptions of the chemical and pharmacological information about a variety of
chemicals, drugs, and biologicals. Data include CAS number, chemical structure, molecular weight, and physical data, including solubility, which may
be especially useful in compounding. This reference is available in print and online.
Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy
Pharmaceutical Press, http://www.pharmpress.com This classic text contains information about all aspects of pharmacy practice. There is discussion
of social issues impacting pharmacy as well as information about the basics of pharmaceutics, manufacturing, pharmacodynamics, nuclear pharmacy,
and medicinal chemistry. Information is provided regarding common compounding techniques and ingredients. The paper text is divided into two
volumes and also includes a companion CDROM.
A Practical Guide to Contemporary Pharmacy Practice
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com This text resource with CDROM is organized in an outline format to find information easily.
Discussion of compounding techniques, pharmacy calculations, and explanations of additives used in compounding is very useful. Students and
young practitioners may find the sample cases especially helpful.
Trissel’s™ Stability of Compounded Formulations
American Pharmacists Association®, http://www.pharmacist.com This text provides information about preparation of sterile and nonsterile dosage
forms. The text is organized by drugs and provides a summary of the properties of a drug, general stability considerations, and stability reports of
compounded preparations. There is also extensive information provided about beyonduse dating.
USP/NF
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, http://www.usp.org This resource, available in print, online, and flash drive formats, contains the official substance
and product standards. Also, official preparation instructions are given for a limited number of commonly compounded products.
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database
Therapeutic Research Faculty, http://www.naturaldatabase.com This resource is available in text, online, and mobile device formats. It provides a
summary of the information available for various dietary supplements and rates the relative safety and efficacy of those products. Searches can be
performed by brand names of supplements or by a variety of common names. The electronic version includes an interaction checker and disease
state/condition search. The electronic resource has also partnered with the USP Verified program to indicate which supplements have been certified to
contain a quality product by USP Verified.
Natural Standard
Natural Standard, http://www.naturalstandard.com This resource is available in text and electronic forms. Extensive evidencebased information
regarding efficacy is provided. The monographs utilize tables to quickly summarize published literature and to grade the quality of that evidence. The
monographs also provide detailed dosing information reflecting the doses used in clinical studies as well as those recommended by expert opinion.
PDR® for Herbal Medicines
PDR.net®, http://www.pdr.net Products are indexed by common name and information is provided regarding action, usage, dosage, and other clinically
useful information. Citations to the primary literature are also provided at the conclusion of each monograph. The focus on strictly herbal products,
Downloaded 202313 9:22
rather than nonbotanical A Your
dietary IP is 196.189.182.14
supplements, may limit utility in some settings.
Review of Natural Products
monographs also provide detailed dosing information reflecting the doses used in clinical studies as well as those recommended by expert opinion.
Access Provided by:
PDR® for Herbal Medicines
PDR.net®, http://www.pdr.net Products are indexed by common name and information is provided regarding action, usage, dosage, and other clinically
useful information. Citations to the primary literature are also provided at the conclusion of each monograph. The focus on strictly herbal products,
rather than nonbotanical dietary supplements, may limit utility in some settings.
Review of Natural Products
Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., http://www.factsandcomparisons.com This resource provides information about the chemistry, pharmacology, and
toxicology of a number of natural products, based on references to primary literature. A summary of relevant clinical trials is also available. There is
also limited patient counseling information, but the strength of this resource is in the chemistry and pharmacology information. Recent revisions have
dramatically increased the amount of information included in patient counseling sections. This is available in looseleaf, bound, online, and mobile
device formats.
Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy
Saunders Ltd., http://www.elsevier.com This text offers a mixture of more classic pharmacognosy, crude plant–based drug classification and
examination, and some of the more clinical applications, pharmacology, and phytochemistry. This is not a resource focused on patient care issues.
DRUG INTERACTIONS
Hansten and Horn’s Drug Interactions Analysis and Management
Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., http://www.hanstenandhorn.com This resource provides summaries of, mechanism of, and management options for
reported drug interactions. The authors also provide information regarding severity of interaction and any risk factors that might predispose patients
to this event. The looseleaf version of the reference is updated quarterly while the bound is updated annually. Both provide rapid information
regarding severity and likelihood of an interaction and actions needed to minimize this risk based on the case studies and primary literature available.
Some of this content is integrated into other electronic Facts & Comparisons products.
Drug Interaction Facts™
Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., http://www.factsandcomparisons.com This resource provides information about drug–drug or drug–food interactions.
Discussions of significance of the interaction as well as suggestions for management are included. This resource is available in both bound and loose
leaf texts. Electronically, it is available via CDROM and as integrated in other electronic Facts & Comparisons products.
FoodMedication Interactions
FoodMedication Interactions™, http://www.foodmedinteractions.com This resource is available in print, online, and mobile device formats. This
focuses on the impact food may have on mediations and also highlights what foods should be avoided with specific medications.
GERIATRIC DOSAGE RECOMMENDATIONS
Geriatric Dosage Handbook
Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., http://www.lexi.com The monographs in this resource contain traditional sections of drug information, but focus on
dosing recommendations for geriatric patients. There is a special section of each monograph addressing concerns specific to the geriatric population.
Limited references to primary literature are provided. This reference is also available online and for mobile devices.
The Merck Manual of Geriatrics
Merck & Co., Inc., http://www.merck.com This resource available in print and online (http://www.merck.com/mkgr/mmg/home.jsp) focuses primarily
on management of diseases and conditions common in geriatric patients. There is some discussion of appropriate dosing of medications in this
population.
IDENTIFICATION OF PRODUCT
IdentaDrug202313 9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14

Downloaded
Therapeutic
©2023 Research
McGraw Faculty,
Hill. All Rightshttp://www.indentadrug.com This resource
Reserved. Terms of Use • Privacy Policy is organized
• Notice by imprint codes and provides identification of drugs based on
• Accessibility
those codes. Descriptions of medications as well as NDC and Canadian DIN numbers are provided. Electronic and text versions of this reference are
available.
on management of diseases and conditions common in geriatric patients. There is some discussion of appropriate dosing of medicationsAccess
in this
Provided by:
population.
IDENTIFICATION OF PRODUCT
IdentaDrug
Therapeutic Research Faculty, http://www.indentadrug.com This resource is organized by imprint codes and provides identification of drugs based on
those codes. Descriptions of medications as well as NDC and Canadian DIN numbers are provided. Electronic and text versions of this reference are
available.
Drugs.com
Drugsite Trust, http://www.drugs.com This electronic resource has an easytouse imprint search. This is especially useful as it is available to patients
and has no charge for use.
Other resources, discussed elsewhere, also have some tablet identification features including Clinical Pharmacology, Lexicomp Online, Micromedex
2.0®, and Facts & Comparisons eAnswers®.
INCOMPATIBILITY AND STABILITY
Handbook on Injectable Drugs
American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists®, http://www.ashp.org This resource, commonly called Trissel’s, includes information regarding the
compatibility and stability of various parenteral medications. Information is primarily provided in the form of charts and tables, making finding
information relatively quick. This resource also provides information about routes of administration and commercially available strengths. A pocket
sized handbook and online subscription are also available.
King® Guide to Parenteral Admixtures®
King Guide Publications, http://www.kingguide.com Over 450 IV drug monographs are provided. This resource focuses on compatibility information.
Also, limited information about stability is available. This is available in looseleaf, bound copy, online, and mobile device formats.
Trissel’s™ 2 Clinical Pharmaceutics Database
TriPharma, http://trissels2.rcl.com/tsweb/. This electronic resource compiles data from other Trissel publications. Information about parenteral
admixtures, compounded formulations, physical compatibility, and chemotherapy formulations is included. Extensive information describing
published information is provided which can be applied to specific clinical situations. This resource is available for the intranet, as well as via CDROM
and the Internet.
INTERNATIONAL DRUG EQUIVALENCY
Index Nominum: International Drug Directory
Medpharm Publishers, http://www.medpharm.de This drug information source contains information on drugs available in over 130 countries.
Information is included regarding structure, therapeutic class, and proprietary names for single entity medications. A CDROM is included containing
contact information for pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide.
Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference
Pharmaceutical Press, http://www.pharmpress.com This resource includes information on a variety of domestic and international drugs. Proprietary
names and manufacturer contact information are available for a variety of countries. Some information is provided about common herbal products as
well as diagnostic agents, radioactive pharmaceuticals, and some veterinary products. This information is available in hardcopy, CDROM, via online
MedicinesComplete subscription, and is also included in some Micromedex® Healthcare Series packages.
Additional resources are available that are specific to individual countries including Diccionario de Especialidases Farmaceuticas (Mexico), British
Pharmacopoeia (United Kingdom), Rote Liste® (Germany), Dictionary Vidal (France), Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (Canada), and
Repertorio Farmaceutico Italiano (Italy).
PEDIATRIC DOSAGE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Harriet Lane Handbook
well as diagnostic agents, radioactive pharmaceuticals, and some veterinary products. This information is available in hardcopy, CDROM, via online
Access Provided by:
MedicinesComplete subscription, and is also included in some Micromedex® Healthcare Series packages.
Additional resources are available that are specific to individual countries including Diccionario de Especialidases Farmaceuticas (Mexico), British
Pharmacopoeia (United Kingdom), Rote Liste® (Germany), Dictionary Vidal (France), Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (Canada), and
Repertorio Farmaceutico Italiano (Italy).
PEDIATRIC DOSAGE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Harriet Lane Handbook
Mosby, http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com This resource, assembled by medical residents, contains a succinct discussion of common diseases and
conditions of newborn to adolescent patients. A significant portion of the book is dedicated to medication dosing, specifically pediatrics. This section
also contains information about common side effects and dosage forms available. The resource includes a variety of topic areas including palliative
care and toxicology information. There is a separate publication which focuses on antimicrobial therapy. This resource is also available for mobile
devices.
Pediatric Dosage Handbook
Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., http://www.lexi.com The monographs in this resource contain traditional sections of drug information, but focus on
detailed dosing recommendations for pediatrics. There is also information about common extemporaneous preparations. Limited references to
primary literature are provided. This reference is also available online, on CDROM, and for mobile devices.
PHARMACOKINETICS
Basic Clinical Pharmacokinetics
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com This text discusses the basic principles of pharmacokinetics especially interpretation and
implications of plasma concentrations. The second section of the book provides monographs and discussions focused on drugs most commonly
assessed by blood concentration levels.
Applied Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics
McGrawHill Professional, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This text describes the role of pharmacokinetics as it relates to drug development and to
patient care. This covers the clinical application of pharmacokinetics and also addresses the impact of pharmacogenetics on drug metabolism. This
text is also included in the Access Pharmacy™ electronic subscription.
PHARMACOLOGY
Goodman & Gilman’s: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics
McGrawHill Professional, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This classic pharmacology text also provides information about pharmacokinetics and
pharmacodynamics of a number of drugs. The focus of the resource is to provide a correlation between principles of pharmacology and contemporary
clinical practice. The text makes extensive use of charts and tables to convey information. This text is also included in the Access Pharmacy™ electronic
subscription.
Basic & Clinical Pharmacology
McGrawHill Professional, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This text, organized by therapeutic class of agents, provides general discussion of
pharmacology principles as well as more detailed discussion of specific agents. Figures and tables are frequently used to illustrate difficult material.
This text is also included in the Access Pharmacy™ electronic subscription.
Brody’s Human Pharmacology: Molecular to Clinical
Elsevier, http://www.elsevier.com This text is designed with a student focus and emphasizes therapeutic impact of pharmacology. The text is organized
by organ system impacted. The text also has accompanying mobile device downloads and Internet updates.
Modern Pharmacology with Clinical Applications

Lippincott
Chapter 3:Williams & Wilkins,Resources,
Drug Information http://www.lww.com This textbook
Kelly M. Shields; ElaineisBlythe
focused on the clinical application of drugs. The text has moved away Page
from an
11 / 29
emphasis
©2023 on chemical
McGraw Hill. Allstructures to an emphasis
Rights Reserved. Termsonofstructureactivity relationships.
Use • Privacy Policy • Notice •This text also includes information on some common dietary
Accessibility
supplements.
Access Provided by:
Elsevier, http://www.elsevier.com This text is designed with a student focus and emphasizes therapeutic impact of pharmacology. The text is organized
by organ system impacted. The text also has accompanying mobile device downloads and Internet updates.
Modern Pharmacology with Clinical Applications
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com This textbook is focused on the clinical application of drugs. The text has moved away from an
emphasis on chemical structures to an emphasis on structureactivity relationships. This text also includes information on some common dietary
supplements.
PHARMACY LAW
Information about individual state pharmacy law is best obtained through the individual state boards of pharmacy. A listing of state board Web site
URLs is available at http://www.nabp.net/boardsofpharmacy/. Often the Board will have this information available in PDF format on the Web site. The
Code of Federal Regulations containing aspects of federal laws is available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html. One general text about federal
law is listed below.
Pharmacy Practice and the Law
Jones and Bartlett Publishers, http://www.jblearning.com This resource contains information about federal laws and regulations impacting pharmacy
practice. Additional implications for pharmacy practice are provided for some legislation. Information is provided about federal and state regulation of
product development, dispensing, and development. Various summaries of case law are provided. Additionally information regarding Internet
pharmacies and electronic transmission of prescriptions has been added.
TERATOGENICITY/LACTATION
Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com As the title implies, this text (often referred to as Brigg’s) focuses exclusively on information
available about the use of medications in pregnant or lactating women. Summaries of the literature available regarding fetal exposure in utero or
exposure through breast milk are provided. Animal literature is provided in cases where human literature is lacking. Additional information about
recommendations by organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics is provided.
Catalog of Teratogenic Agents
Johns Hopkins University Press, http://www.press.jhu.edu This resource covers pharmaceuticals, chemicals, environmental pollutants, food additives,
household products, and viruses and their possible teratogenicity. Special attention has been paid to including the international as well as domestic
information.
Case Study 3–2
A new mother has been breastfeeding her child for 3 months. The mother has recently been prescribed levofloxacin for treatment of an infection.
• What sources should be consulted to determine the appropriateness of this choice?
• Is it safe for her to continue breastfeeding during this therapy?
• What additional information is needed to answer this patient’s question?
THERAPY EVALUATION/DRUG OF CHOICE
Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com This text includes information about disease states and treatment options. Information is
presented in the form of cases with followup discussion. Its focus is on clinical case–based presentation of information. There is also a pocketsized
handbook designed to accompany the text. This print resource is updated every few years and comes with a CDROM. A version is also available for use
on a mobile device.
Goldman’s
Chapter Cecil
3: Drug MedicineResources, Kelly M. Shields; Elaine Blythe
Information Page 12 / 29
Saunders, http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com This text is available in print, CDROM, mobile device, and Internet (http://www.cecilmedicine.com)
formats. Information is organized by disease state and colorcoded to speed usage. Information about etiology, manifestations, diagnosis, treatment,
Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs
Access Provided by:
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com This text includes information about disease states and treatment options. Information is
presented in the form of cases with followup discussion. Its focus is on clinical case–based presentation of information. There is also a pocketsized
handbook designed to accompany the text. This print resource is updated every few years and comes with a CDROM. A version is also available for use
on a mobile device.
Goldman’s Cecil Medicine
Saunders, http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com This text is available in print, CDROM, mobile device, and Internet (http://www.cecilmedicine.com)
formats. Information is organized by disease state and colorcoded to speed usage. Information about etiology, manifestations, diagnosis, treatment,
and prognosis is provided.
Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine
McGrawHill Professional, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This text serves as a fairly comprehensive introduction to clinical medicine. It is available in text
and electronic formats. Comprehensive information is presented including pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, and disease management. This
text is also included in the Access Pharmacy™ electronic subscription.
The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy
Merck & Co., Inc., http://www.merck.com This source provides a quick summary of disease state information, including pathology, symptoms,
diagnosis, and treatment. This resource is also available online as a free resource at http://www.merckmanuals.com/, and mobile device version.
Medscape
Medscape, http://www.medscape.com This electronic resource provides extensive information about disease states and conditions. It includes news
and updates on treatment. In addition, it includes basic monographs about prescription and OTC medications.
Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiological Approach
McGrawHill Professional, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This text focuses on the management of a variety of disease states. Information provided about
disorders include epidemiology, etiology, presentation of disease, treatment, and treatment outcomes. This is available in text and electronic formats.
This resource also has accompanying texts: Pharmacotherapy Casebook: A PatientFocused Approach and Pharmacotherapy Handbook. These texts
are also included in the Access Pharmacy™ electronic subscription.
Pharmacotherapy Principles and Practice
McGrawHill Professional, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This text focuses on the management of a variety of disease states, centering on the diseases
most likely to be seen by pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. It is more concise than Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiological
Approach and is focused on diseases most likely to be seen in practice, including community pharmacy; it also contains various features to help
student learning. Information provided about disorders include epidemiology, etiology, presentation of disease, treatment, and treatment outcomes.
This is available in text and electronic formats. This resource also has accompanying text: Pharmacotherapy Principles and Practice Study Guide.
Textbook of Therapeutics
Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, http://www.lww.com PDA, CDROM, and print versions of this resource are available. While the resource focuses on
treatment of disease states and development of a therapeutic plan, sections regarding pathophysiology and clinical presentation are also provided.
TOXICOLOGY
Casarett & Doull’s Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons
McGrawHill Professional Medical Publishing, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This resource is designed to serve as a textbook rather than a quick
resource for toxicology information. Extensive information is provided regarding organ and nonorgandirected toxicity. This text is also included in
the Access Pharmacy™ electronic subscription.
Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies

McGrawHill Professional
Chapter 3: Drug Medical
Information Publishing,
Resources, Kellyhttp://www.mcgrawhill.com
M. Shields; Elaine Blythe This text is designed to offer a case study approach to toxicology. Initial
Page 13 / 29
basic toxicology
©2023 McGraw data areRights
Hill. All provided, but the majority
Reserved. Terms of ofUse
this •text focuses
Privacy on management
Policy of toxicologic emergencies with a variety of common drugs,
• Notice • Accessibility
botanicals, pesticides, and other occupational or environmental hazards.
McGrawHill Professional Medical Publishing, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This resource is designed to serve as a textbook rather than a quick
Access Provided by:
resource for toxicology information. Extensive information is provided regarding organ and nonorgandirected toxicity. This text is also included in
the Access Pharmacy™ electronic subscription.
Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies
McGrawHill Professional Medical Publishing, http://www.mcgrawhill.com This text is designed to offer a case study approach to toxicology. Initial
basic toxicology data are provided, but the majority of this text focuses on management of toxicologic emergencies with a variety of common drugs,
botanicals, pesticides, and other occupational or environmental hazards.
Case Study 3–3
A pharmacy student is working on a presentation involving illicit drugs. She knows that there have been recent news stories about adolescents using
Coricidin™ products for recreational use, and she is curious at what doses these products are toxic.
• Which resources would be useful for her project?
• What search terms might she utilize?
VETERINARY MEDICINE
Veterinary pharmacy as a specialty practice is a growing area in the United States, and pharmacists are interested in obtaining veterinary specific
knowledge and skills. The growth in veterinary pharmacy has allowed pharmacists to apply their drug knowledge resources to veterinary situations.
Supporting the growth of veterinary pharmacy is the concept of “One Medicine,” a blending of veterinary medicine and human medicine for the benefit
of public health, and to better serve human and animal patients alike. From a clinical pharmacy perspective, veterinary medicine and human medicine
complement each other, with the humantrained pharmacist being uniquely positioned to educate and serve veterinarians and animal owners.
Opportunities for the practical application of One Medicine can occur in community pharmacy settings as most pharmacists practicing in a community
setting have been presented with prescriptions for animal patients at some time during the course of their career. Veterinarians outsource
prescriptions to community pharmacists to help control inventory, high drug costs, and the need for compounded drug therapies. The use of human
labeled pharmaceuticals prescribed in an offlabel manner to treat companion animal disease states is a viable option for veterinary medicine. These
factors contribute to a situation where pharmacists who receive veterinary prescriptions can be challenged in their knowledge of veterinary drugs,
indications, dosages, disease states, and therapeutic monitoring parameters.
Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook
WileyBlackwell Publishing, http://www.wiley.com/wileyblackwell This resource is considered one of the most useful references for extralabel drug
dosages, indications, and specific drug information on human and veterinary labeled pharmaceuticals. Monographs are listed in alphabetical order,
and categorize the drugs’ chemistry, pharmacology, indications, species dosing, contraindications, and interactions into an easily identifiable format.
It is often referred to as “The Virus” in veterinary medicine because it is everywhere. A client information booklet is also available.
Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Saunders, http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com This is a practical, valuable, and informative twovolume resource, focusing on internal medicine topics
in canines and felines. The text provides extensive coverage of pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting dogs and cats.
Compendium of Veterinary Products (CVP)
North American Compendiums, http://naccvp.com This online reference is similar to the human PDR in terms of information provided and format. The
resource contains the product monographs for over 5000 FDAapproved pharmaceuticals, USDAapproved biologicals, diagnostic, feed additive, and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)approved pesticide products that are currently available. The reference contains indexes of manufacturers
and distributors, brand name/ingredient indexes, and product category indexes.
FDA/CVM Homepage
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofFoods/CVM/default.htm This Web site provides information for pharmacists about the legal or
Downloaded 202313
regulatory issues 9:22the
that affect A Your IP isof196.189.182.14
practice veterinary pharmacy or veterinary medicine. It is useful for regulatory issues pertaining to animal health.
Chapter 3: Drug Information Resources,
The compliance policy guide (CPG 608.400) Kelly M. Shields; Elaine
“Compounding Blythe
of Drugs
Page 14 / 29
for Use in Animals” and the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA)
can be found at this site; these documents are considered essential reading for any pharmacist who practices veterinary pharmacy. Center for
Veterinary Medicine (CVM) updates are available that detail the prohibited use of drugs in certain animal populations. Updates on the judicious use of
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)approved pesticide products that are currently available. The reference contains indexes of manufacturers
Access Provided by:
and distributors, brand name/ingredient indexes, and product category indexes.
FDA/CVM Homepage
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofFoods/CVM/default.htm This Web site provides information for pharmacists about the legal or
regulatory issues that affect the practice of veterinary pharmacy or veterinary medicine. It is useful for regulatory issues pertaining to animal health.
The compliance policy guide (CPG 608.400) “Compounding of Drugs for Use in Animals” and the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA)
can be found at this site; these documents are considered essential reading for any pharmacist who practices veterinary pharmacy. Center for
Veterinary Medicine (CVM) updates are available that detail the prohibited use of drugs in certain animal populations. Updates on the judicious use of
antibiotics in food producing animals are posted at this site. A listing of all FDAapproved animal drug products, also known as the “Green Book,” is
available and searchable at this site. Patent information, manufacturer lists, indications, approval numbers, general drug information, code of
regulations, and trade/generic names are just a few pieces of information that can be gathered from this Web site. Practitioners can also access the
FDA Veterinarian Newsletter from this site.
American Veterinary Medical Association, Scientific Reference Material on Veterinary Compounding
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has a wealth of information for pharmacists and veterinarians alike (http://www.avma.org). There
is a collection of valuable veterinary compounding guidelines, brochures, federal regulations, frequently asked questions, definitions of
compounding, and the AVMA compounding position statements at https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Reference/Pages/Compounding.aspx. This
information is an excellent starting point for any health care professional wishing to prescribe, provide, or utilize compounded drug products for
animal patients.
Animal Poison Control Center
The Web site, http://www.aspca.org/petcare/poisoncontrol/, focuses on animal toxicology and safety and is the premier resource for pharmacists in
a community setting who may receive poisoning questions about animals. A tollfree number is available for immediate assistance when faced with a
toxicology problem (8884264435), and a fee is required. The center has extensive experience in assisting veterinarians in poison management by
providing immediate and specific treatment recommendations. The site also provides useful information on poison prevention, human medications
that are poisonous to pets, and guidance on what to do if a pet is poisoned. References to toxicology publications and general consultation are listed in
this Web site.
Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics
WileyBlackwell, http://www.wiley.com This textbook provides comprehensive information on the basic and applied principles of veterinary
pharmacology and therapeutics. Information on mechanisms of action, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics is detailed.
Small Animal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Saunders Ltd., http://www.elseiver.com A useful pharmacology reference textbook focusing on pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of
small animal diseases. The book is divided into three sections detailing principles of drug therapy with special attention to clinical relevancy, the use of
drugs from a categorical basis, and pharmaceutical use from a body systems approach.
The Merck Veterinary Manual (MVM)
Merck & Co., Inc., http://www.merck.com The manual has served veterinarians and other health care professionals as a concise and reliable animal
health reference for over 45 years. The fulltext electronic version is available for free online at http://www.merckvetmanual.com. A guide to
abbreviations used in veterinary medicine is also included.
Pet Place
The Web site, http://www.petplace.com, has pet centers focusing on different species (dog, cat, bird, horses, fish, reptiles, and small mammals) and is
written for laypersons. The database includes articles on veterinary disease states and preventative medicine. The drug library search tool allows the
user to find drug information on a specific pharmaceutical. There are also text and graphics describing medication administration techniques for dogs
and cats.
Pets with Diabetes

The Web 3:
Chapter site, http://www.petdiabetes.com,
Drug Information Resources, Kellycontains information
M. Shields; Elaineon diabetes in small animals particularly dogs and cats. The Web site offers
Blythe Pagegeneral
15 / 29
diabetesMcGraw
©2023 educationHill.and
All drug information
Rights Reserved.and is written
Terms of Usefor• laypersons. The• site
Privacy Policy also•offers
Notice insight into and information on home testing and
Accessibility
complications. There are also resources to support owners of diabetic animals.
written for laypersons. The database includes articles on veterinary disease states and preventative medicine. The drug library search toolAccess
allows the
Provided by:
user to find drug information on a specific pharmaceutical. There are also text and graphics describing medication administration techniques for dogs
and cats.
Pets with Diabetes
The Web site, http://www.petdiabetes.com, contains information on diabetes in small animals particularly dogs and cats. The Web site offers general
diabetes education and drug information and is written for laypersons. The site also offers insight into and information on home testing and
complications. There are also resources to support owners of diabetic animals.
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
From this site, http://www.avma.org/, pharmacists can read about the latest developments in One Medicine, public health issues affecting human and
veterinary patients, peerreviewed journal articles, and legal/regulatory issues and recent developments in veterinary medicine. The site provides
numerous links organized by discipline for locating information. Under the scientific resources tab, there is a resource titled Veterinary Therapeutics
that is valuable for educating veterinary pharmacists about current therapeutics issues in veterinary medicine.
Case Study 3–4
You have an appointment to discuss compounding services with a local veterinarian. Your pharmacy has just begun offering these services and in
the dialog the veterinarian references AMDUCA. You have not heard of this.
• What is your strategy to find the meaning and relevance of this term?
SELECTING A FORMAT FOR TERTIARY RESOURCES
Pharmacists should also be aware that more resources are becoming available in a variety of formats. Many resources that have been traditionally
available only in a paper text are now accessible via a variety of electronic formats. Electronic resources are often preferred because they may be easier
to use, allow quicker access to information, allow multiple searches to be performed simultaneously, and often contain the most recent information
available regarding a topic. Additionally, many electronic networked resources allow use of the same resource at more than one location. This lets
many practitioners access information from a variety of physical locations rather than being restricted to only medical libraries or drug information
centers.
Many texts are now being combined into electronic packages, for example, the McGrawHill Professional product AccessPharmacy®
(http://www.accesspharmacy.com/index.aspx). The combination of multiple resources in one package may make selection of resources for a practice
site much easier, but also more costly. As these combination packages increase in popularity with students and universities the expectations
practitioners have for access to resources in work settings will also likely continue to increase.
REFERENCES FOR MOBILE DEVICES
The increasing incorporation of mobile devices into clinical practice settings has prompted an expanding choice of drug information databases for
that medium. As described earlier in the chapter, many of the major compendia available electronically also offer a product for a mobile device. It is
important to recognize that the information available in an app version of a database may differ from that available in the online or hardcopy forms.86
One study looking specifically at dietary supplements databases highlighted some of the variations which may exist between different forms of the
same resource.87 While the specific functionality of an app and the way that one accesses information for most apps may change, the information is
generally similar. Due to factors such as cost and memory requirements practitioners must be judicious in their selection of databases to purchase for
a mobile device.
A limited number of critical evaluations of these databases have been performed to aid in the selection of the highest quality databases.43,8889 Based
on the limited data available Lexicomp, ePocrates, and Clinical Pharmacology OnHand appear to be among the best quality PDA drug information
databases available at the time of these studies. One additional study90 evaluating the efficacy of PDA databases specifically for addressing drug
interaction information found slightly different results from previous studies but did find LexiInteract to be one of the top performers, in addition to
iFacts™ (http://www.skyscape.com).
Lexicomp provides access to excerpts from AHFS, the Lexicomp products, and Stedman’s medical dictionary
(http://www.ahfsdruginformation.com/products.aspx).
In general,
©2023 it should
McGraw Hill.be
Allnoted that
Rights some of the
Reserved. utilityofofUse
Terms mobile devicePolicy
• Privacy apps •isNotice
the ability to embed links to additional content and resources. This can
• Accessibility
be a very useful feature especially for students.
databases available at the time of these studies. One additional study90 evaluating the efficacy of PDA databases specifically for addressing drug
Access Provided by:
interaction information found slightly different results from previous studies but did find LexiInteract to be one of the top performers, in addition to
iFacts™ (http://www.skyscape.com).
Lexicomp provides access to excerpts from AHFS, the Lexicomp products, and Stedman’s medical dictionary
(http://www.ahfsdruginformation.com/products.aspx).
In general, it should be noted that some of the utility of mobile device apps is the ability to embed links to additional content and resources. This can
be a very useful feature especially for students.
Secondary Literature
Secondary literature refers to references that either index or abstract the primary literature, with the goal of directing the user to relevant primary
literature. This type of literature can be used for multiple purposes; one can be to help keep a practitioner keep abreast of recently published
information91 or to help find more recent or detailed information on a specified treatment or disease. When discussing secondary literature there are
two commonly used terms, indexing and abstracting; the two terms differ slightly. Indexing consists of providing bibliographic citation information
(e.g., title, author, and citation of the article), while abstracting also includes a brief description (or abstract) of the information provided by the article
or resource cited. ❷ Various systems index or abstract literature from different journals, meetings, or publications; therefore, in order to perform a
comprehensive search multiple databases must be used.
In searching most databases, a user will follow a similar search strategy, with small changes to reflect differences in database systems. There are
several challenges in searching secondary database systems. Systems do not index all terms the same, so it is necessary to determine what terms a
database is using in order to conduct a successful search. For example, databases through the National Library of Medicine (NLM) index terms by their
Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms, while the Iowa Drug Information System uses the United States Adopted Name and the International
Classification of Diseases. Most computerized databases also include a freetext search option, which is very useful when the defined index terms do
not identify relevant data. This option may also be helpful when the term is newly emerging or before an official index term is defined.
The need to utilize a variety of terms for search strategy is illustrated in the following sample question: “Is clonidine effective in the treatment of
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adolescents?” It is first important to identify the key terms. These terms might include clonidine,
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and adolescents. However, some databases may not recognize the term adolescent and instead use the term
pediatric or child. Additionally, the use of the term pediatric may just refer to the medical specialty caring for pediatric in some resources, rather than
treatment of a pediatric patient population. Therefore, it is important to recognize that different databases may require different search terms to be
used. Also, the name of the disease state, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, has changed over time, so it may be necessary to use other terms,
such as attention deficit disorder.
Electronic searches generally use the Boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT (see Figure 3–1). The operator AND will combine two terms, returning only
citations containing both of those concepts or terms. Combining two terms with the operator OR will result in an equal or greater number of returns
since it will include any citation where either term is used. The term NOT should be used with caution as it always decreases the number of returns. It
eliminates any references having that term and may eliminate appropriate articles simply because the term happens to appear somewhere in the
article.
Figure 3–1.
Boolean operators.
For example, in the earlier clonidine for the treatment of ADHD question, the appropriate search terms (clonidine AND attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder) may be used with the AND operator. However, if the requestor wanted information regarding use of either clonidine or guanfacine in this
disease state, then the term OR might be used. See Figure 3–2 for a graphic presentation of this search. A search using OR will return a number of
results equal to or greater than a search using the term AND. The term OR might also be useful when searching for a term with synonyms, for example,
attention deficit disorder OR attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The operator NOT would be helpful if a user wants to exclude certain topics, for
example, a specific disease state. In this case, a search might be performed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder NOT Tourette’s disorder. Since
the use of the term NOT will exclude any article mentioning Tourette’s disease, an article focused on treatment of ADHD with a small section about
Tourette’s disease would also be excluded. Parentheses can also be used to further streamline a search. In this example, a search may be performed
for clonidine AND (attention deficit disorder OR attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), this would retrieve articles that contain the drug of interest as
well as either of the two disease states of interest. An additional example of search strategy using Boolean operators is provided in Appendix 3–1.
Chapter
Figure 3–2.
3: Drug Information Resources, Kelly M. Shields; Elaine Blythe Page 17 / 29
ADHD AND (clonidine OR guanfacine).

attention deficit disorder OR attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The operator NOT would be helpful if a user wants to exclude certain topics, for
Access Provided by:
example, a specific disease state. In this case, a search might be performed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder NOT Tourette’s disorder. Since
the use of the term NOT will exclude any article mentioning Tourette’s disease, an article focused on treatment of ADHD with a small section about
Tourette’s disease would also be excluded. Parentheses can also be used to further streamline a search. In this example, a search may be performed
for clonidine AND (attention deficit disorder OR attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), this would retrieve articles that contain the drug of interest as
well as either of the two disease states of interest. An additional example of search strategy using Boolean operators is provided in Appendix 3–1.
Figure 3–2.
ADHD AND (clonidine OR guanfacine).
Some databases will also use the terms WITH or NEAR. These operators are similar to AND; however, they require the terms to be within a set number
of words of each other. These terms may be useful when other searches are identifying a large number of articles where both terms are mentioned, but
not in conjunction with each other.
Most databases allow results to be restricted via use of limit fields. For example, this may include language of publication, year of publication, type of
article (e.g., human study, review, case report), or type of journal where publication is found. This is most helpful when the initial search terms return a
large number of possible matches. Using too many limits with the initial search may eliminate articles or citations that would be helpful.
One additional point to bear in mind when performing electronic searches is that the same search phrase could be indexed under a variety of search
terms or spellings, and in order to provide a comprehensive search it is important to address all of those. For example, if looking for information
regarding the herbal product ginkgo, it may be helpful to search under the botanical name, common name(s), as well as common alternative spellings.
So a possible search strategy may be to use the terms “ginkgo,” “ginkgo biloba,” the Latin name “Ginkgoaceae,” as well as the misspelled word
“gingko.” This same principle holds true when considering disease states whose names may have changed over time. As databases and resources
continue to modify search features, there are more Googlelike search engines which allow for a natural language search.
When trying to improve the overall quality of searching secondary references, drug information specialists have looked at the use of filters to provide
better searching strategies. The two most prominent types of filters are content filters and validity filters. The content filters are specific to the drug
or disease state being searched. It helps to look at the MeSH terms to make sure that the search has the most appropriate content. It is best to use the
advanced searching features in these secondary databases versus the simple searching features because advanced searching allows for filters to be
utilized. The second type of filter is known as a validity filter, which is a way to narrow the search to only the highest quality studies. Search
terminology such as randomized controlled trial or doubleblind can be used to eliminate studies of weaker/poorer methodology.
Listed below are some examples of secondary databases and types of requests they are helpful in addressing.
BIOSIS PREVIEWS®
Thompson Reuters Medical, http://www.thomsonreuters.com This is a comprehensive database of biological information, covering biological and
biomedical information. BIOSIS also covers abstracts from conferences relating to basic sciences. This is most helpful when seeking more basic
science information about activity of compounds on a cellular level.
CANCERLIT
National Cancer Institute, http://www.cancer.gov This database is maintained by the National Cancer Institute and indexes literature from a variety of
sources specific to cancer literature. This resource is most useful when looking for information about oncology therapies or quality of life issues. This
resource is available electronically at http://www.cancer.gov/search/cancer_literature/.
CINAHL®
EBSCOhost, http://www.ebscohost.com This is an indexing service that covers primarily literature in the fields of nursing and allied health. This
database is useful when seeking information about patient care from the perspective of allied health professionals. It is updated monthly.
COCHRANE LIBRARY
Chapter
Cochrane3:Library,
Drug Information Resources, Kelly
http://www.cochrane.org M.database
This Shields; has
Elaine
three components: indexes of Cochrane reviews about a variety of medicalPage
Blythe 18 / 29
treatments,
conditions, and alternative therapies; abstracts of international systematic reviews; and a bibliography of systematic reviews in worldwide literature.
These evidencebased medicine reviews are based on extensive analysis of current literature and provide treatment recommendations (see Chapter 7
on evidencebased medicine).
CINAHL® Access Provided by:
EBSCOhost, http://www.ebscohost.com This is an indexing service that covers primarily literature in the fields of nursing and allied health. This
database is useful when seeking information about patient care from the perspective of allied health professionals. It is updated monthly.
COCHRANE LIBRARY
Cochrane Library, http://www.cochrane.org This database has three components: indexes of Cochrane reviews about a variety of medical treatments,
conditions, and alternative therapies; abstracts of international systematic reviews; and a bibliography of systematic reviews in worldwide literature.
These evidencebased medicine reviews are based on extensive analysis of current literature and provide treatment recommendations (see Chapter 7
on evidencebased medicine).
CURRENT CONTENTS CONNECT®
Thomson Reuters Medical, http://scientific.thomsonreuters.com/index.html This electronic service offers an overview of very recently published
literature as it relates to scientific information. There are multiple subsets; the clinical medicine and life science subgroups are likely the most useful
for practitioners and focus on useful information about recent drug research or developments.
EMBASE®
Elsevier, http://www.embase.com EMBASE® is a comprehensive abstracting service covering biomedical literature worldwide. This database covers
material similar to that covered by MEDLINE®, but with greater coverage of international publications. Additionally, there is less lag time between
publication and inclusion in the database. This database is useful when seeking information about dietary supplements or medications that may be
available in other countries.
GOOGLE SCHOLAR
Google, http://scholar.google.com An Internet search engine that is designed to target scholarly materials available online, in a variety of professional
areas including health care. Information from a variety of scholarly journals and publications is able to be searched; however, in some cases the
searcher may not be able to access fulltext versions of articles or works due to password restrictions.
INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL ABSTRACTS (IPA)
Thompson Reuters Medical, http://www.thomsonreuters.com Coverage includes drugrelated information, including drug use and development. This
database also abstracts a variety of meeting presentations. The main focus of this database is pharmacy information, including pharmacy
administration and clinical services, making it the most comprehensive global database for pharmacy specific information.
IOWA DRUG INFORMATION SYSTEM (IDIS)
Division of Drug Information Service, University of Iowa, http://itsnt14.its.uiowa.edu This is an indexing service that allows retrieval of fulltext articles
from a variety of biomedical publications. Indexing is done by drug and diseasespecific terms, which at times makes searching challenging. Recently
an autosuggest feature has been added to this database, which provides suggested search terms that appear as the searcher begins to enter
terminology. This database is useful for information about standard medications. It is unique in that it provides fulltext articles, in either PDF form or,
for pre1988 articles, microfiche. There are a limited number of journals covered and not all articles from a specific journal issue are included (i.e.,
some articles may not be included if the editorial staff did not feel that they had sufficient focus on relevant drug or disease state information). The
database has added a Comparative Effectiveness Plus tool which allows access to pivotal studies, regulatory documents, and practice guidelines to
compare specific medications.
JOURNAL WATCH®
Massachusetts Medical Society, http://www.jwatch.org Journal Watch is an abstracting service including recent information, summarized by
physicians, from a variety of medical literature. A general newsletter covering major medical stories of interest to generalists is published as well as
additional newsletters in specific specialty areas. This is most helpful when monitoring for new clinical trials involving specific medications.
LEXISNEXIS®
LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions, http://www.lexisnexis.com This indexing and abstracting service provides coverage of a variety of types of
information, including medical, legal, and business news. Some publications are available full text through this service. This resource is helpful when
attempting to locate information about recent medical news or research.
MEDLINE®
additional newsletters in specific specialty areas. This is most helpful when monitoring for new clinical trials involving specific medications.
Access Provided by:
LEXISNEXIS®
LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions, http://www.lexisnexis.com This indexing and abstracting service provides coverage of a variety of types of
information, including medical, legal, and business news. Some publications are available full text through this service. This resource is helpful when
attempting to locate information about recent medical news or research.
MEDLINE®
National Library of Medicine, http://www.nlm.nih.gov Coverage includes basic and clinical sciences as well as nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine,
and many other health care disciplines. Information comes from more than 5000 journals in 40 different languages. This database is available through
a variety of publishers; free access to content is available via PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/). A sample search is provided in
Appendix 3–1.
PHARMACOECONOMICS & OUTCOMES NEWS WEEKLY
Adis International, http://www.adis.com This biweekly publication covers recent publications regarding economic use of health care resources, as well
as information on prescribing trends, recent health care news, and regulatory updates. The focus of this publication is the economic impact of disease
states and medical interventions.
REACTIONS WEEKLY
Adis International, http://www.adis.com A weekly indexing/abstracting service summarizing literature involving adverse events, drug interactions,
drug dependence, and toxicology data. This resource is especially useful when seeking case reports of adverse reactions or other information on drug
safety. Also, due to the nature of this resource it has a very short lag time, so data are more timely than several other print resources.
Case Study 3–5
A physician requests information about the use of sildenafil for treatment of female sexual arousal disorder. She also requests information about
use of any of the other phosphodiesterase5 inhibitors.
• What resources might be good places to look for this information?
• What search terms should be used?
• Should restrictors be utilized?
In addition, there are a variety of publications targeting specific therapeutic areas that are available. For example, Adis (http://www.adisonline.com)
compiles Anti infectives Today, Cancer Today, CNS Disorders Today, and Pediatrics Today.
Primary Literature
Primary literature consists of clinical research studies and reports, both published and unpublished. Not all literature published in a journal is
classified as primary literature, for example, review articles or editorials are not primary literature. ❸ There are several types of publications
considered primary, including controlled trials, cohort studies, case series, and case reports. Additional information about study designs commonly
found in medical literature and how to evaluate them is found in Chapters 4 and 5.
Advantages to the use of primary literature include access to detailed information about a topic and the ability to personally assess the validity and
applicability of study results. Additionally, primary literature tends to be more recent than tertiary or secondary literature. However, there are several
disadvantages to the use of primary literature alone. These disadvantages include misleading conclusions based on only one trial without the context
of other research, the need to have good skills in medical literature evaluation, and the time needed to evaluate the large volume of literature available.
Due to the rapidly increasing number of specialty journals being published it is difficult to determine which journals are really most essential in a
pharmacy practice setting. Appendix 3–2 provides a listing of core holdings for a college of pharmacy assembled by the AACP.10 While this list may be
more extensive than what is required in most practice settings, it does provide a core listing of journals. Each practice setting requires slightly different
primary literature based on the specific areas that are of greatest importance to that facility and the patients cared for in that location.
OBTAINING
©2023 McGrawTHE PRIMARY
Hill. All LITERATURE
Rights Reserved. Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Notice • Accessibility
Once literature has been identified in a secondary searching system, the actual articles can be obtained in various ways. Many databases link users
of other research, the need to have good skills in medical literature evaluation, and the time needed to evaluate the large volume of literature available.
Access Provided by:
Due to the rapidly increasing number of specialty journals being published it is difficult to determine which journals are really most essential in a
pharmacy practice setting. Appendix 3–2 provides a listing of core holdings for a college of pharmacy assembled by the AACP.10 While this list may be
more extensive than what is required in most practice settings, it does provide a core listing of journals. Each practice setting requires slightly different
primary literature based on the specific areas that are of greatest importance to that facility and the patients cared for in that location.
OBTAINING THE PRIMARY LITERATURE
Once literature has been identified in a secondary searching system, the actual articles can be obtained in various ways. Many databases link users
directly to the article of interest. For example, PubMed links users to open access journal publications and articles resulting from NIHfunded research
through PubMed Central (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/).
However, many articles are not available via open access routes; in those cases alternative techniques may be needed. Once a citation is identified,
utilizing a local library catalog is a good next step. Often a local library may carry the journal needed, or may be affiliated with other facilities that can
provide that article. Articles are often available for a fee via the publisher Web site. If neither of these options are available, then the Loansome Doc
ordering system might be used. This system is available through the NLM and offered for a fee to any user. Articles identified in PubMed can be easily
ordered from that database through this system. Additional information about this program is available at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/loansome_doc.html.
Alternative Resources
INTERNET SEARCHES
❹ At times even welldesigned searches of standard medical literature do not yield sufficient information to make clinical decisions or
recommendations. In these cases alternative resources may need to be employed. One such method to identify relevant resources might be a general
Internet search for information. This can be especially helpful to serve as a starting point for questions about uncommon diseases, new terms, drugs in
development, or marketed OTC products and combination dietary supplements. For example, if a requestor asked about use of a dietary supplement
product called GABA Plus in ADHD, it would be difficult to search for information, unless the requestor was able to provide a list of ingredients
contained in the product. Often requestors may not have that information; therefore, it may be necessary to search for a manufacturer Web site to
identify the specific individual ingredients and then look for information on the individual components. This is also helpful in identifying information
or specific product claims provided by the manufacturer. Additionally, Internet searches may be useful for topics that have recently been in the news,
where information is changing more rapidly than standard paper resources can be updated.
It is important to remember that different search engines use different techniques to identify Web pages, and that no search engines identify all Web
sites. Some search engines are geared toward scholarly content (such as Google Scholar, http://scholar.google.com) or scientific research, rather than
general information. These might be more useful for identifying recent research about a disease or disorder, rather than the ingredients in GABA Plus.
In order to efficiently perform a search, it is important to consider which search engine would most likely index the desired materials.
There are, however, several caveats to finding information on the Internet. The first is to carefully evaluate the quality of all information provided.
There are millions of Web sites and there is no true quality assurance measures in place to evaluate the reliability of information available. There are
some general tenets to keep in mind when evaluating this type of literature. Generally, sites maintained by educational institutions, notforprofit
medical organizations, or a division of the U.S. government are likely to contain highquality information, whereas information maintained by a
company selling a promoting a specific product may be more questionable.
In order to assess quality of online information several standards and programs now exist. These include organizations such as the Health on the Net
(HON code, http://www.hon.ch), which clearly define rules to evaluate the quality of information available via a Web site. These organizations do not
evaluate every Web site available, but instead only those who request evaluation. Since many Web sites do not request evaluation, the lack of an
organization’s quality seal does not necessarily indicate that the information is of low quality.
The following criteria should be used when determining quality of online material.
Is the source credible, without a vested interest in promoting one particular treatment or product?
Is the information accurate and current?
Does the site link to other nonaffiliated sites that provide consistently good information?
Is the information appropriately detailed and referenced?

Is it possible to identify the author of the site to contact with additional questions or comments?
Information on evaluating Web sites is discussed further in Chapter 5. In addition, the NLM has a video and posted questions to help determine high
Is the source credible, without a vested interest in promoting one particular treatment or product?
Access Provided by:
Is the information accurate and current?
Does the site link to other nonaffiliated sites that provide consistently good information?
Is the information appropriately detailed and referenced?
Is it possible to identify the author of the site to contact with additional questions or comments?
Information on evaluating Web sites is discussed further in Chapter 5. In addition, the NLM has a video and posted questions to help determine high
quality sites (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/evaluatinghealthinformation.html).
ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION SOURCES
Occasionally sufficient information to address a drug information request cannot be obtained from standard resources and may require the use of
some alternative sources of information. If a question involves, for example, a recent news story reporting the removal of a medication from the
market, a logical first place to find initial information would be to identify the original news story. This can be done by searching various newswire
services such as PR Newswire or even major news network Web sites such as CNN (Table 3–3). LexisNexis, http://www.lexisnexis.com, indexes a variety
of newswire stories as well as transcripts of news reports. While this news story may not provide all the information needed, it might at least serve as a
point from which to search for additional information.
TABLE 3–3.
MAJOR NEWS SOURCES ONLINE
News Source URL
ABC http://www.abcnews.go.com
AP (Associated Press) http://www.ap.org
CBS http://www.cbsnews.com
CNN http://www.cnn.com
FDC Reports “The Pink Sheet” http://www.healthnewsdaily.com/publications/thepinksheet
MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com
NBC http://www.nbc.com
Reuters Health News http://www.reutershealth.com
PR Newswire http://www.prnewswire.com
In some cases, there may be such limited information available that it would be wise to seek out an expert in the field, for example, a question about
the use of heparin in a troche dosage form. In these cases, it may be prudent to contact persons performing research in this area or practitioners who
are currently using that therapy to identify information that might have been missed in an initial search or may not have been published. Some experts
may be identified via medical organizations focusing on specific disease states, leadership of medical societies, or persons who have authored
numerous papers on a specific medication or medical condition.
When looking for recent recommendations regarding treatment of a specific disease state, it may be helpful to identify an organization affiliated with
that disease state. For example, when looking for treatment recommendations for management of irritable bowel syndrome it might be appropriate to
contact the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (http://www.iffgd.org/) to obtain information about current practice
standards as well as possible emerging therapies.
Additionally, when seeking information about a specific drug therapy, it may be helpful to contact the product manufacturer via their medical
information department
Downloaded to identify
202313 9:22 A Yourinformation that may be available inhouse. This resource could be especially helpful for obtaining difficult to
IP is 196.189.182.14
access literature
Chapter 3: Drug if a product is
Information newly approved
Resources, or for
Kelly M. identifying
Shields; Elainea Blythe
possible rare adverse drug reaction. Page 22 / 29
Case Study 3–6

that disease state. For example, when looking for treatment recommendations for management of irritable bowel syndrome it might be appropriate
Access Providedto
by:
contact the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (http://www.iffgd.org/) to obtain information about current practice
standards as well as possible emerging therapies.
Additionally, when seeking information about a specific drug therapy, it may be helpful to contact the product manufacturer via their medical
information department to identify information that may be available inhouse. This resource could be especially helpful for obtaining difficult to
access literature if a product is newly approved or for identifying a possible rare adverse drug reaction.
Case Study 3–6
A patient tells you she saw a news story on NBC that said all patients should stop taking their Coumadin™ and switch to the “new Coumadin™.” She
tells you she is not planning to take it anymore and wants the physician to find a different medication. She is indignant that you as a health care
professional did not know this was going on.
• Where might you find a copy of the news story that this patient saw to help her better understand what the news reporter was trying to convey?
Consumer Health Information

As consumers become more active and educated in their health care and disease management and more computer literate, the demand for health
information sources designed for consumers has been increasing. Currently there are a variety of sources where consumers obtain their health
information. Since many consumers find at least some of their information online, pharmacists should be prepared to help consumers evaluate the
quality of information found online as well as recommend sites where information might be found. Table 3–4 contains a listing of just a few of the
sources that may be useful for consumers.
TABLE 3–4.
ONLINE CONSUMER INFORMATION SOURCES
Web Site URL Maintained By Information
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ National Library of Contains information about various medications as well as disease states
Medicine and conditions.
http://www.fda.gov/cder Food and Drug Contains information about new drugs as well as dietary supplements. Also
Administration contains information about recalls of drug or food.
http://www.gettingwell.com Thomson Healthcare Contains information about a variety of prescription drugs.
http://www.merckhomeedition.com Merck This is a consumer based version of the Merck Manual. It includes a variety
of interactive features.
http://www.healthfinder.gov Department of This site contains information about a variety of common medical
Health and Human conditions and diseases.
Services
http://www.womenshealth.gov/www.4woman.gov National Women’s This site contains information about conditions and diseases of special
Health Information interest to women.
Center
http://www.cdc.gov Center for Disease This site has information about the treatment and prevention of infectious
Control and diseases. It also contains a listing of public health hoaxes.
Prevention
http://dirline.nlm.nih.gov National Library of This contains a directory of health care organizations online.
Medicine and
Downloaded 202313 9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14National Institute of

Chapter 3: Drug Information Resources, Kelly M. Shields; Elaine Blythe
Health Page 23 / 29
http://ods.od.nih.gov National Institute of This site compiles some of the scientific information available about the
Health efficacy and safety of dietary supplements.
information sources designed for consumers has been increasing. Currently there are a variety of sources where consumers obtain their health
Access Provided by:
information. Since many consumers find at least some of their information online, pharmacists should be prepared to help consumers evaluate the
quality of information found online as well as recommend sites where information might be found. Table 3–4 contains a listing of just a few of the
sources that may be useful for consumers.
TABLE 3–4.
ONLINE CONSUMER INFORMATION SOURCES
Web Site URL Maintained By Information
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ National Library of Contains information about various medications as well as disease states
Medicine and conditions.
http://www.fda.gov/cder Food and Drug Contains information about new drugs as well as dietary supplements. Also
Administration contains information about recalls of drug or food.
http://www.gettingwell.com Thomson Healthcare Contains information about a variety of prescription drugs.
http://www.merckhomeedition.com Merck This is a consumer based version of the Merck Manual. It includes a variety
of interactive features.
http://www.healthfinder.gov Department of This site contains information about a variety of common medical
Health and Human conditions and diseases.
Services
http://www.womenshealth.gov/www.4woman.gov National Women’s This site contains information about conditions and diseases of special
Health Information interest to women.
Center
http://www.cdc.gov Center for Disease This site has information about the treatment and prevention of infectious
Control and diseases. It also contains a listing of public health hoaxes.
Prevention
http://dirline.nlm.nih.gov National Library of This contains a directory of health care organizations online.
Medicine and
National Institute of
Health
http://ods.od.nih.gov National Institute of This site compiles some of the scientific information available about the
Health efficacy and safety of dietary supplements.
http://nccam.nih.gov National Center for This site is a government maintained resource describing ongoing research
Complementary and in the area of dietary supplements, as well as detailing efficacy information
Alternative Medicine currently available.
http://www.safemedication.com American Society of This site provides a patient version of AHFS Drug Information Resource, as
HealthSystem well as tips about medication administration and resources to empower
Pharmacists patients to better track/manage their own health care.
Consumers may also benefit from some text resources available at a local library. Some resources are published by organizations that produce
references for health care professionals, while others are published by lay press companies. There is great variation in the quality of information
provided from resource to resource. Some of the most popular resources may not be written at an appropriate level for a consumer to understand or
may not provide helpful information for the patient. For this reason, it is important to discuss with patients what other resources they are using to find
additional drug and medical information. Opening a dialog with patients about this topic is fairly simple and can consist openended questions such as
“Where else have
Downloaded you found
202313 9:22 information
A Your IP ison196.189.182.14
your disease state?” or “What other material have you read about your medication/disease state?”
If beingMcGraw
©2023 asked to Hill.
recommend a source
All Rights of online
Reserved. information
Terms for a patient,
of Use • Privacy Policyone can confidently
• Notice recommend health care organizations or disease
• Accessibility
societies, both of which usually provide helpful, highquality diseasespecific information geared for the average consumer. The FDA and WebMD have
now launched a joint online venture (http://www.webmd.com/fda) which directs consumers to reliable information. Also, many drug companies offer
Consumers may also benefit from some text resources available at a local library. Some resources are published by organizations that produce
Access Provided by:
references for health care professionals, while others are published by lay press companies. There is great variation in the quality of information
provided from resource to resource. Some of the most popular resources may not be written at an appropriate level for a consumer to understand or
may not provide helpful information for the patient. For this reason, it is important to discuss with patients what other resources they are using to find
additional drug and medical information. Opening a dialog with patients about this topic is fairly simple and can consist openended questions such as
“Where else have you found information on your disease state?” or “What other material have you read about your medication/disease state?”
If being asked to recommend a source of online information for a patient, one can confidently recommend health care organizations or disease
societies, both of which usually provide helpful, highquality diseasespecific information geared for the average consumer. The FDA and WebMD have
now launched a joint online venture (http://www.webmd.com/fda) which directs consumers to reliable information. Also, many drug companies offer
Web sites with helpful disease or disease management information.
In addition to these resources aimed at consumers, there are consumerspecific sections of many tertiary resources discussed earlier. Electronic
resources such as Micromedex®, Lexicomp, Facts & Comparisons® eAnswers, ASHP’s SafeMedication.com, or Clinical Pharmacology have subsections
dedicated to consumerlevel information available for a practitioner to print and provide to the patient. Specific reference recommendations for
patients can be found in Chapter 20.
Conclusion
Given the rapid rate at which medical information is increasing and the amount of available technology to organize and locate this information, it is
easy to become overwhelmed by the volume of data available. However, as pharmacists develop a better understanding of where to access
information, provision of drug information will occur more quickly. As technological advances continue, which may change the face of physical
pharmacy dispensing and compounding, reliance on pharmacists for information retrieval and interpretation will continue to grow.
Practitioners must not, however, be satisfied with merely identifying sources for drug information. ❺ Understanding where to access information is
only the first step in the provision of quality drug information. Information must be interpreted and evaluated to become knowledge, as is described in
other chapters. It is this unique knowledge that will enable practitioners to optimize patient care.
The information in this chapter helps provide guidance as to where specific types of drug information might be found and how to begin a search for
drug information. The next several chapters will provide additional guidance on how to interpret and apply the information that is gathered.
Case Study 3–7
A physician is seeking information about the use of chondroitin in the management of osteoarthritis. He sees a large number of patients in his
practice and is seeking information about efficacy, safety, and appropriate dosing of this product.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of tertiary resources in responding to this request?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of primary literature in this scenario?
References
1. American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Basic resources for pharmacy education 2008 [Internet]. Alexandria (VA): American Association of
Colleges of Pharmacy ; 2013 Jan [cited 2013 Mar 1 ]; [54 p.]. Available from:
http://www.aacp.org/governance/sections/libraryinformationscience/documents/2013janbasicresourcesforpharmacyeducation.pdf
2. Rosenberg JM, Kourmis T, Nathan JP, Cicero LA, McGuire H. Current status of pharmacistoperated drug information centers in the United States.
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2004;61(19):2023–32. [PubMed: 15509125]
3. Krinsky DL, Berardi RR, Ferreri SP, Hume AL, Newton GD, Rollings CJ. Handbook of nonprescription drugs. 17th ed. Washington, DC: American
Pharmacists Association; 2011.
4. Aronson JK. Meyler’s side effects of drugs: the international encyclopedia of adverse drug reactions and interactions. 15th ed. Amsterdam, The
Netherlands: Elsevier; 2006.
5. Aronson JK. Side effects of drugs annual 32: a worldwide yearly survey of new data and trends in adverse drug reactions. 32nd ed. Amsterdam, The
Netherlands:
Chapter Elsevier;
3: Drug 2010. Resources, Kelly M. Shields; Elaine Blythe
Information Page 25 / 29
6. Red book: pharmacy’s fundamental reference. 2013 ed. Ann Arbor (MI): Truven Health Analytics; 2013.
Pharmacists Association; 2011.
Access Provided by:
4. Aronson JK. Meyler’s side effects of drugs: the international encyclopedia of adverse drug reactions and interactions. 15th ed. Amsterdam, The
5. Aronson JK. Side effects of drugs annual 32: a worldwide yearly survey of new data and trends in adverse drug reactions. 32nd ed. Amsterdam, The
6. Red book: pharmacy’s fundamental reference. 2013 ed. Ann Arbor (MI): Truven Health Analytics; 2013.
7. Billups NF, Billups SM. American drug index 2013. 57th ed. St. Louis (MO): Wolters Kluwer Health; 2012.
8. Allen LV, Adejare A, Desselle SP, Felton LA. Remington: the science and practice of pharmacy. 22nd ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins; 2012.
9. O’Neil MJ. Merck Index: an encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs and biologicals. 15th ed. Whitehouse Station (NJ): Royal Society of Chemistry; 2013.
10. Thompson JE. A practical guide to contemporary pharmacy practice. 3rd ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2009.
11. USP 36/NF 31 2013: The official compendia of standards. Rockville (MD): United States Pharmacopeial Convention; 2012.
12. Trissel LA. Trissel’s stability of compounded formulations. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Pharmacists Association; 2012.
13. Jew RK, SooHoo W, Erush SC. Extemporaneous formulations. 2nd ed. Bethesda (MD): American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists; 2010.
14. Allen LV, Popovich NG, Ansel HC. Ansel’s pharmaceutical dosage forms and delivery systems. 9th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins; 2010.
15. 2008–2009 USP pharmacists’ pharmacopeia. Rockville (MD): United States Pharmacopeial Convention; 2008.
16. Natural medicines comprehensive database [Internet]. Stockton (CA): Therapeutic Research Faculty; 1995 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
http://www.naturaldatabase.com
17. DerMarderosian A, Beutler JA. The review of natural products. 7th ed. St. Louis (MO): Wolters Kluwer; 2012.
18. Natural standard [Internet]. St. Louis (MO): Mosby; 2001 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.naturalstandard.com
19. PDR for herbal medicine. 4th ed. Montvale (NJ): Thomson Healthcare Inc; 2007.
20. Evans WC. Trease and Evans’ pharmacognosy. 16th ed. Edinburg (TX): W. B. Saunders; 2009.
21. Aronoff GR, Bennett WM, Berns JS, Brier ME, Kasbekar N, Mueller BA, Pasko DA, Smoyer WE. Drug prescribing in renal failure. 5th ed.
Philadelphia (PA): American College of Physicians; 2007.
22. Hansten PD, Horn JR. Drug interaction analysis and management 2012. St. Louis (MO): Wolters Kluwer; 2012.
23. Taro DS. Drug interaction facts 2013: the authority on drug interactions. St. Louis (MO): Facts & Comparisons; 2012.
24. Baxter K. Stockley’s drug interactions. 9th ed. London: Pharmaceutical Press; 2010.
25. Pronsky ZM, Crowe JP, Elbe D, Young VSL, Epstein S, Roberts W, Ayoob TK. Food medication interactions. 17th ed. Birchrunville (PA): Food
Medication Interactions; 2012.
26. Drug therapy monitoring system v2.1 [Internet]. St. Louis (MO): Wolters Kluwer [cited 1 Jun 2010]. Available from: http://www.medispan.com
27. Lee M. Basic skills in interpreting laboratory data. 4th ed. Bethesda (MD): American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists; 2009.
28. Chernecky CC, Berger BJ. Laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures. 6th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Saunders; 2012.
29. Semla
©2023 TP, Beizer
McGraw JL,Rights
Hill. All HigbeeReserved.
MD. Geriatric dosage
Terms handbook.
of Use 18th
• Privacy ed. Hudson
Policy • Notice(NY): LexiComp; 2012.
• Accessibility
30. Identidex® [Internet]. Ann Arbor (MI): Truven Health Analytics; 2013 [cited Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.micromedexsolutions.com
Access Provided by:
26. Drug therapy monitoring system v2.1 [Internet]. St. Louis (MO): Wolters Kluwer [cited 1 Jun 2010]. Available from: http://www.medispan.com
27. Lee M. Basic skills in interpreting laboratory data. 4th ed. Bethesda (MD): American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists; 2009.
28. Chernecky CC, Berger BJ. Laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures. 6th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Saunders; 2012.
29. Semla TP, Beizer JL, Higbee MD. Geriatric dosage handbook. 18th ed. Hudson (NY): LexiComp; 2012.
30. Identidex® [Internet]. Ann Arbor (MI): Truven Health Analytics; 2013 [cited Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.micromedexsolutions.com
31. Clinical pharmacology [Internet]. Tampa (FL): Clinical Pharmacology; 2006 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.clinicalpharmacology.com
32. IDENTADRUG reference [Internet]. Stockton (CA): Therapeutic Research Center; 1995–2013; [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
http://www.indentadrug.com
33. Clinical Reference Library [Internet]. Hudson (NY): LexiComp; 1978 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.crlonline.com
34. Facts & Comparisons E Answers [Internet]. St. Louis (MO): Wolters Kluwer Health; 2003 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
online.factsandcomparisons.com
35. US Food and Drug Administration homepage [Internet]. Washington, DC: US Food and Drug Administration [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
http://www.fda.gov
36. ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Washington, DC: US National Institutes of Health [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
37. MedlinePlus® Health Information from the National Library of Medicine [Internet]. Washington, DC: National Library of Medicine; [cited 1 Mar 2013].
Available from: http://medlineplus.gov
38. Trissel LA. Handbook of injectable drugs. 17th ed. Bethesda (MD): American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists; 2012.
39. King JC, Catania PN. King guide to parenteral admixtures. 35th ed. Napa (CA): King Guide Publications; 2006.
40. Trissel’s 2 Clinical Pharmaceutics Database [Internet]. Cashier: TriPharma Communications; [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
http://trissels2.rcl.com/tsweb/
41. Bing CM, Chamallas SN. Extended stability for parenteral drugs. 5th ed. Bethesda (MD): American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists; 2013.
42. American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. AACP core list of journals for libraries that serve schools and colleges of pharmacy 2010 [Internet].
Alexandria (VA): American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy; 2009 Jan [cited 1 Mar 2013]; [5 p.]. Available from:
http://www.aacp.org/governance/sections/libraryinformationscience/documents/2010%20core%20journals%20list.pdf
43. Lowry CM, KostkaRokosz MD, McClowskey WW. Evaluation of personal digital assistant drug information databases for the managed care
pharmacist. J Manag Care Pharm. 2003;9(5):441–8. [PubMed: 14613442]
44. Sweetman SC. Martindale: the complete drug reference. 37th ed. London: Pharmaceutical Press; 2011.
45. Index nominum: international drug directory. 19th ed. Stuttgart, Germany: Medpharm Scientific Publishers; 2008.
46. Tschudy MM, Arcara KM. The Harriet lane handbook. 19th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Mosby; 2011.
47. Taketomo CK, Hodding JH, Kraus DM. Pediatric and neonatal dosage handbook. 19th ed. Hudson (NY): LexiComp; 2012.
48. Neofax 2011. 2011 ed. Montvale (NJ): Thomson Reuters Healthcare; 2011.
49. Winter ME. Basic clinical pharmacokinetics. 5th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2009.
50. Shargel L,202313

Downloaded WuPong 9:22S, YuAAB. Applied
Your IP is biopharmaceutics
196.189.182.14 and pharmacokinetics. 6th ed. New York: McGrawHill; 2012.
©2023 McGraw
51. Brunton Hill. All Rights
LL, Chabner Reserved.
B, Knollman Terms of
B. Goodman Use • Privacy
& Gilman’s: Policy • Notice •basis
the pharmacological Accessibility
of therapeutics. 12th ed. New York: McGrawHill; 2010.
52. Katzung BG, Masters SB, Trevor AJ. Basic & clinical pharmacology. 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2012.
47. Taketomo CK, Hodding JH, Kraus DM. Pediatric and neonatal dosage handbook. 19th ed. Hudson (NY): LexiComp; 2012.
Access Provided by:
48. Neofax 2011. 2011 ed. Montvale (NJ): Thomson Reuters Healthcare; 2011.
49. Winter ME. Basic clinical pharmacokinetics. 5th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2009.
50. Shargel L, WuPong S, Yu AB. Applied biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics. 6th ed. New York: McGrawHill; 2012.
51. Brunton LL, Chabner B, Knollman B. Goodman & Gilman’s: the pharmacological basis of therapeutics. 12th ed. New York: McGrawHill; 2010.
52. Katzung BG, Masters SB, Trevor AJ. Basic & clinical pharmacology. 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2012.
53. Wecker L, Crespo L, Dunaway G, Faingold C, Watts S. Brody’s human pharmacology: molecular to clinical. 5th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Elsevier; 2009.
54. Golan DE. Principles of pharmacology: the pathophysiologic basis of drug therapy. 3rd ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011.
55. Abood RR. Pharmacy practice and the law. 7th ed. Sudbury (MA): Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2012.
56. Reiss BS, Hall GD. Guide to federal pharmacy law. 7th ed. Delmar (NY): Apothecary Press; 2010.
57. Briggs GG, Freeman RK, Yaffe YJ. Drugs in pregnancy and lactation: a reference guide to fetal and neonatal risk. 9th ed. Philadelphia (PA):
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011.
58. Hale TW. Medications and mother’s milk 2012. 15th ed. Amarillo (TX): Hale Pub; 2012.
59. Shepard TH, Lemire RJ. Catalog of teratogenic agents. 13th ed. Baltimore (MD): Johns Hopkins University Press; 2010.
60. Schaefer C, Peters P, Miller RK. Drugs during pregnancy and lactation: treatment options and risk assessment. 2nd ed. Amsterdam, The
Netherlands: Elsevier Academic Press; 2007.
61. REPOTOX [Internet]. Ann Arbor (MI): Truven Health Analytics; 2013 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.micromedexsolutions.com
62. DiPiro JT. Pharmacotherapy: a pathophysiologic approach. 8th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2011.
63. KodaKimble M, Young LY, Kradjan WA, Guglielmo BJ, Alldredge BK. Applied therapeutics: the clinical use of drugs. 10th ed. Philadelphia (PA):
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2013.
64. Porter RS. The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 19th ed. Whitehouse Station (NJ): Merck Research Laboratories; 2011.
65. Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Jameson JL, Loscalzo J. Harrison’s principles of internal medicine. 18th ed. New York:
McGrawHill; 2011.
66. Goldman L, Schafer AI. Goldman’s cecil medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Saunders/Elsevier; 2011.
67. Helms RA, Quan DJ. Textbook of therapeutics: drug and disease management. 8th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2006.
68. Bope ET, Kellerman RD. Conn’s current therapy 2013. Philadelphia (PA): Saunders/Elsevier; 2012.
69. Poisindex® [Internet]. Ann Arbor (MI): Truven Health Analytics; 2013 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.micromedexsolutions.com
70. Nelson LS, Lewin NA, Howland MA, Hoffman RS, Goldfrank LR, Flomenbaum NE. Goldfrank’s toxicologic emergencies. 9th ed. New York: McGraw
Hill; 2010.
71. Klaassen C. Casarett & Doull’s toxicology: the basic science of poisons. 7th ed. New York: McGrawHill; 2008.
72. Leikin JB, Paloucek FP. Poisoning and toxicology handbook. 4th ed. Boca Raton (FL): CRC; 2007.
73. Shannon MW, Borron SW, Burns MJ, Haddad LM, Winchester JF. Haddad and Winchester’s clinical management of drug overdose. 4th ed.
Philadelphia (PA):
Downloaded Saunders/Elsevier;
202313 2007.
9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14
©2023 McGraw
74. TOXNET Hill. AllWashington,
[Internet]. Rights Reserved. Terms ofInstitutes
DC: US National Use • Privacy Policy
of Health; • Notice
[cited 1 Mar •2013].
Accessibility
Available from: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/.
75. Ettinger SJ, Feldman EL Textbook of veterinary internal medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia (PA): W.B. Saunders; 2010.
71. Klaassen C. Casarett & Doull’s toxicology: the basic science of poisons. 7th ed. New York: McGrawHill; 2008. Access Provided by:
72. Leikin JB, Paloucek FP. Poisoning and toxicology handbook. 4th ed. Boca Raton (FL): CRC; 2007.
73. Shannon MW, Borron SW, Burns MJ, Haddad LM, Winchester JF. Haddad and Winchester’s clinical management of drug overdose. 4th ed.
Philadelphia (PA): Saunders/Elsevier; 2007.
74. TOXNET [Internet]. Washington, DC: US National Institutes of Health; [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/.
75. Ettinger SJ, Feldman EL Textbook of veterinary internal medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia (PA): W.B. Saunders; 2010.
76. Merck Veterinary Manual [homepage on the Internet]. Whitehouse Station (NJ): Merck & Co, Inc.; [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/index.html
77. PetPlace.com [homepage on the Internet]. Weston (FL): Intelligent Content Corp; c1999; 2013 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
http://www.petplace.com
78. PetEducation.com [homepage on the Internet]. Drs. Foster & Smith Inc.; c1997–2013 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.petplace.com
79. Pets with Diabetes [homepage on the Internet]. Petdiabetes.com; c2000–2013 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from: http://www.petdiabetes.com
80. Plumb DC. Plumb’s veterinary drug handbook. 7th ed. Stockholm (WI): WileyBlackwell; 2011.
81. Compendium of veterinary products. 12th ed. Port Huron (MI): North American Compendiums; 2010.
82. Carpenter JW, Mashima TY, Rupier DJ Exotic animal formulary. 4th ed. Philadelphia (PA): W.B. Saunders; 2012.
83. USP Veterinary Medicine [homepage on the Internet]. Rockville (MD): United States Pharmacopeia; c1997–2008 [cited 1 Mar 2013]. Available from:
http://www.usp.org/usphealthcareprofessionals/compounding/veterinarycompoundingmonographs
84. Drug facts and comparisons 2013. St. Louis (MO): Wolters Kluwer Health; 2013.
85. Micromedex 2.0 [Internet]. Ann Arbor (MI): Truven Health Analytics; 2013. Available from: http://www.micromedexsolutions.com
86. Clauson KA, Polen HH, Marsh WA. Clinical decision support tools: performance of personal digital assistants versus online drug information
databases. Pharmacotherapy. 2007;27(12):1651–8.
CrossRef [PubMed: 18041886]
87. Clauson KA, Polen HH, Peak AS, March WA, DiScala SL. Clinical decision support tools: personal digital assistant versus online dietary supplement
databases. Ann Pharmacother. 2008;42:1592–9.
CrossRef [PubMed: 18940918]
88. Enders SH, Enders JM, Holstad SG. Druginformation software for palm operating system personal digital assistants: breadth, clinical
dependability and ease of use. Pharmacother. 2002;22:1036–40.
CrossRef
89. Clauson KA, Seamon MJ, Clauson AS, Van TB. Evaluation of core and supplemental drug information databases for the Palm OS and Pocket PC.
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2004;61:1015–24. [PubMed: 15160777]
90. Barrons R. Evaluation of personal digital assistant software for drug interactions. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2004;61:1036–40.
91. Shaughnessy AF. Keeping up with the medical literature: how to set up a system. Am Fam Physician. 2009;79(1):25–6. [PubMed: 19145962]


Chapter 3 - Drug Information Resources

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3 - Drug Information Resources

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Access Provided by:

Drug Information: A Guide for Pharmacists, 5e

Chapter 3: Drug Information Resources

Kelly M. Shields; Elaine Blythe

Differentiate between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of information.

Identify resources relevant to different pharmacy practice areas.

Select appropriate resources for a specific information request.

Describe the role of electronic resources in the provision of drug information.

Evaluate resources to determine appropriateness of information.

Describe appropriate search strategy for use with electronic databases.

Recognize alternative resources for provision of drug information.

streamline the search process.

EVALUATION OF TERTIARY LITERATURE

Does the author have appropriate experience/expertise to publish in this area?

EVALUATION OF TERTIARY LITERATURE

Does the author have appropriate experience/expertise to publish in this area?

Is the information likely to be timely based on publication date?

Is information supported by appropriate citations?

Does the resource contain relevant information?

USEFUL RESOURCES FOR COMMON CATEGORIES OF DRUG INFORMATION

for Herbal Medicine,19 Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy20 MEDLINE®, IPA,

Geriatric Dosage Geriatric Dosage Handbook,29 major compendia∗ MEDLINE®, IPA,

Compounded Formulations,42 Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy43 MEDLINE®

Method/Rate of Major compendia∗

compendia∗ MEDLINE®, IDIS

Brody’s Human Pharmacology: Molecular to Clinical,53 Principles of Pharmacology54 EMBASE®,

Brody’s Human Pharmacology: Molecular to Clinical,53 Principles of Pharmacology54 EMBASE®,

Drugs during Pregnancy and Lactation,60 REPRORISK,61 major compendia∗ Weekly,

Products (CVP),81 Exotic Animal Formulary,82 USP, Veterinary Medicine83 MEDLINE®

GENERAL PRODUCT INFORMATION

AHFS Drug Information®

format (AHFS DI®Essentials™), and a mobile drug reference version.

Facts & Comparisons®

Drug Information Handbook

Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs: An Interactive Approach to Self­Care

Physicians’ Desk Reference®

Meyler’s Side Effects of Drugs

Case Study 3–1

AVAILABILITY OF DOSAGE FORMS

American Drug Index

Red Book® (Red Book Drug Topics)

Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy

A Practical Guide to Contemporary Pharmacy Practice

Trissel’s™ Stability of Compounded Formulations

Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database

PDR® for Herbal Medicines

PDR® for Herbal Medicines

Review of Natural Products

Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy

Hansten and Horn’s Drug Interactions Analysis and Management

Drug Interaction Facts™

GERIATRIC DOSAGE RECOMMENDATIONS

Geriatric Dosage Handbook

The Merck Manual of Geriatrics

Ident­a­Drug2023­1­3 9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14

INCOMPATIBILITY AND STABILITY

Handbook on Injectable Drugs

King® Guide to Parenteral Admixtures®

Trissel’s™ 2 Clinical Pharmaceutics Database

INTERNATIONAL DRUG EQUIVALENCY

Index Nominum: International Drug Directory

Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference

PEDIATRIC DOSAGE RECOMMENDATIONS

Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs: An Interactive Approach to SelfCare

IdentaDrug202313 9:22 A Your IP is 196.189.182.14

• Is it safe for her to continue breastfeeding during this therapy?

FDC Reports “The Pink Sheet” http://www.healthnewsdaily.com/publications/thepinksheet