Information and Education Librarian
What is Drug Information?
It is called drug information, medication information, or drug informatics. It’s really the discovery, use, and management of information in the use of medications. Drug information covers the gamut from identification, cost, and pharmacokinetics to dosage and adverse effects. You may also need information about the body, health, or diseases in order to better utilize the drug information.
NLM's Drug Information Portal
The National Library of Medicine has established the Drug Information Portal as a convenient way to search for information from multiple sources on nearly 81,000 drugs. Individual databases searched and linked to are listed below, but you can enter your search once in the Drug Information Portal and all databases with results will be shown.
- MedlinePlus: Drugs & SupplementsSummary of drug information. Prescription and over-the-counter medication information is from AHFS® Consumer Medication Information
- AIDSInfoInformation on FDA-approved HIV/AIDS and opportunistic infection drugs and investigational HIV/AIDS drugs
- ClinicalTrials.govClinicalTrials.gov is a Web-based resource that provides patients, their family members, health care professionals, researchers, and the public with easy access to information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies on a wide range of diseases and conditions. The Web site is maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Information on ClinicalTrials.gov is provided and updated by the sponsor or principal investigator of the clinical study. Studies are generally submitted to the Web site (that is, registered) when they begin, and the information on the site is updated throughout the study. In some cases, results of the study are submitted after the study ends. This Web site and database of clinical studies is commonly referred to as a "registry" and "results database."
- DailyMedManufacturers drug label
- Dietary Supplements Labels DatabaseSummary of ingredients and label information
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets
- LactMedThe LactMed® database contains information on drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. It includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant. Suggested therapeutic alternatives to those drugs are provided, where appropriate. All data are derived from the scientific literature and fully referenced. A peer review panel reviews the data to assure scientific validity and currency.
- PubMedPubMed, available via the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Entrez life sciences retrieval system, was developed at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), located at the U.S. National Institutues of Health (NIH). Entrez is the text-based search and retrieval system used at NCBI for services including PubMed, Nucleotide and Protein Sequences, Protein Structures, Complete Genomes, Taxonomy, OMIM, and many others. PubMed provides access to bibliographic information that includes MEDLINE.
- MedlinePlus: Drugs & SupplementsSummary of drug information. Prescription and over-the-counter medication information is from AHFS® Consumer Medication Information
- NIAID ChemDBWelcome to the new ChemDB HIV, Opportunistic Infection and Tuberculosis Therapeutics Database. This database contains information extracted from scientific literature on the structure and activity of compounds that have been tested against HIV, HIV enzymes or opportunistic pathogens.
- PubChemPubChem, released in 2004, provides information on the biological activities of small molecules.
PubChem is organized as three linked databases within the NCBI's Entrez information retrieval system. These are PubChem Substance, PubChem Compound, and PubChem BioAssay. PubChem also provides a fast chemical structure similarity search tool. More information about using each component database may be found using the links in the homepage.
FDA : Food and Drug Administration
- Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (Orange Book)List of FDA approved drugs by active ingredients, proprietary names, applicant holders or applicant numbers.
The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) website at the Food and Drug Administration contains information on drug approvals, labeling, side effects, equivalency, and withdrawals. Specific resources are listed below.
- Drugs @FDAInformation about FDA-approved brand name and generic prescription and over-the-counter human drugs and biological therapeutic products. Drugs@FDA includes most of the drug products approved since 1939. The majority of patient information, labels, approval letters, reviews, and other information are available for drug products approved since 1998.
- National Drug Code DirectoryLimited to prescription drugs and insulin products that have been manufactured, prepared, propagated, compounded, or processed by registered establishments for commercial distribution. Drug products are identified and reported using a unique, three-segment number, called the National Drug Code (NDC), which is a universal product identifier for human drugs.
- Inactive Ingredient Search for Approved Drug ProductsDatabase provides ability to search for inactive ingredients in approved drug products.
- Dissolution MethodsFor a drug product that does not have a dissolution test method in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), the FDA Dissolution Methods Database provides information on dissolution methods presently recommended by the Division of Bioequivalence, Office of Generic Drugs.
- Bioresearch Monitoring Information SystemList of clinical investigators, contract research organizations, and institutional review boards involved in the conduct of Investigational New Drug studies with human investigational drugs.
- Acronyms and AbbreviationsThe emphasis is on scientific, regulatory, government agency, and computer application terms. The database includes some FDA organizational and program acronyms.
- New Pediatric Labeling Information DatabaseThis list highlights key pediatric information from the studies submitted in response to pediatric legislative initiatives. To obtain all the information for a pediatric labeling change, select the pediatric labeling date in the first column of the database to reveal the additional information.
Drug Interactions
- Drug Interaction CheckerStart typing a drug name and select the best match from the list of suggestions. Repeat the process to add multiple drugs. Once your list is complete, you can check for interactions immediately or save your list for future reference.
Medication Errors & Safe Medication Practices
- Institute for Safe Medication PracticesThe Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), based in suburban Philadelphia, is the nation’s only 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to medication error prevention and safe medication use. ISMP represents over 35 years of experience in helping healthcare practitioners keep patients safe, and continues to lead efforts to improve the medication use process. The organization is known and respected worldwide as the premier resource for impartial, timely, and accurate medication safety information.
- National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and PreventionInternational coalition to coordinate reporting across national boundaries. Includes recommendations on reducing errors.
- Medication Errors & Safety (FDA)Within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), the Division of Medication Error Prevention and Analysis (DMEPA) reviews medication error reports on marketed human drugs including prescription drugs, generic drugs, and over-the-counter drugs.
- ASHP Policies & Guidelines on Medication Errors & MisadventuresASHP is the national professional organization whose more than 40,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians who serve as patient care providers on healthcare teams in acute and ambulatory settings. For over 70 years, ASHP has been on the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and advance healthcare. - See more at: http://www.ashp.org/menu/AboutUs#sthash.h9LC8qXv.dpuf
- Medical Errors & Patient Safety AHRQfrom the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality