VARIOUS SOURCES OFDRUG INFORMATION IN SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO PROVIDE UNBIASED INFORMATION

1. VARIOUS SOURCES OF
DRUG INFORMATION
IN SYSTEMIC
APPROACH TO PROVIDE
UNBIASED
INFORMATION

2. CONTENTS:
• Definition
• Classification
• Resources
• Flow chart of drug information resources

3. DEFINITION
• 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.

4. • Drug information sources have been traditionally
classified in three different categories: primary,
secondary, and tertiary. For a more complete
discussion of these categories of information
resources, please refer to the following chapter

5. CLASSIFICATION
secondary
territory
primary

6. Primary Sources
• Primary sources are original materials/information on
which other research is based. It includes journal
articles of original research, conference papers,
dissertations, technical reports, and patents. Primary
sources are also sets of data, such as health statistics,
which have been tabulated, but not interpreted.

7. main type of publication in which
scientific research is reported. May be
published by learned societies or by
commercial publishers. A researcher(s)
submits an article to a journal. It is then
refereed by a editorial board of experts
in that field before being
accepted/rejected for publication
JOURNALS

8. Theses:
• detailed accounts of research conducted for the
awarding of higher academic degrees. The
research is assessed by external examiners
before the degree is awarded. In many cases, it
will also be later reported in a condensed form
as a journal article.

9. Conferences:
• an important avenue for
reporting new research or
developments. Papers presented
may or may not be subject to
editorial scrutiny. Conference
papers can be: not published at
all, published only in abstract
form, published in advance of
the conference as a preprint,
published in book form, or as a
special issue of a journal.

10. Reports:
• individual publications reporting
research. They may report internal
research within an organization, or
research done by an individual or
organization under contract to a
client. They can be: freely available,
available only to members of an
organization, only available by
purchase. Sometimes the information
from the report will also be published
in a journal article, but more often,
the report is the only source of the
information. Many governmental
reports (full-text) are now being
made available via the Internet.

11. Secondary Sources
• Secondary sources analyses, evaluates, interprets,
re-packages, summarizes or reorganizes
information reported by researchers in the
primary literature. These include:
• Review Journals : These generally start with
Annual Review of …, Advances in …, Current
Opinion in …
• Article Reviews : Articles that summarize the
current literature on a specific topic.
• Textbooks : These can be either specialized to a
narrow topic or a boarder overview.
• Data Compilations : Statistical databases
(SEERS), Vital & Health Statistics, etc.
• Article Indexes/Databases: These can be
abstracting or citation (e.g. Biological
Abstracts/MEDLINE).

12. Tertiary Sources
• Tertiary sources consist of primary and secondary source
information which has been collected and distilled. They
present summaries of or an introduction to the current state of
research on a topic, summarize or condense information from
primary and secondary sources, or provide a list of primary
and secondary sources of more extensive information.
Examples are:
• Encyclopedias
• Almanacs
• Fact books
• Research Quickstarts/Library Course Pages/Pathfinders

13. Primary sources:
Journals, thesis,
conferences,reports
Secondary sources:
Review journals,
articles, databases
Teritory sources:
Encyclopedias,
textbooks

14. FLOWCHART OF DRUG INFORMATION
SOURCES:

15. RESOURCES BY QUESTION TYPE
Question type First choice Next choice
Adverse effects
AHFS Drug
Information, Facts &
Comparisons (Licensed for
academic use
only) , MICROMEDEX , U
pToDate
Daily Med, Manufacturers’
web sites, Pub Med
Bioequivalence
FDA Electronic Orange
Book
AHFS Drug Information
Chemical Data
AHFS Drug
Information, NLM Drug
Information Portal
Comparative Information
AHFS Drug
Information , Facts &
Comparisons Licensed for
academic use
only) , MICROMEDEX
Contraindications
 AHFS Drug
Information

16. Cost UpToDate Commercial web sites such
as GoodRX.com
Disease state Pharmacotherapy: A
Pathophysiologic Approach,
9th
ed, Dynamed , MEDLINEPl
us, Stat Ref , UpToDate
MICROMEDEX , Natural
Medicines, Clinical Key
Dosage Recommendations AHFS Drug
Information , Facts &
Comparisons(Licensed for
academic use
only) , MICROMEDEX , G
old Standard (Clincal Key)
DailyMed, Manufacturers’
web sites
Drug administration AHFS Drug
Information , Facts &
Comparisons(Licensed for
academic use
only) , MICROMEDEX , G
old Standard (Clincal Key)
Manufacturers’ web
sites, NLM Drug
Information Portal

17. Drug interactions (drug-drug,
drug-food, drug-lab tests,
drug-disease, etc.)
Facts &
Comparisons (Licensed for
academic use
only), MICROMEDEX, Natural
Medicine ,UpToDate (Lexi-
Interact) Drug Interactions
Program
Gold Standard (Clinical
Key) , PubMed
Drugs in pregnancy and
lactation
Facts &
Comparisons Licensed for
academic use
only) , MICROMEDEX(ReproRi
sk),
AHFS Drug Information, Gold
Standard (Clincal
Key), Natural Medicines
Herbal, natural &homepathic
products, dietary
supplements
Natural Medicines CINAHL
Plus , EMBASE , MICROMEDE
X, product web sites
Identification (foreign) Facts &
Comparisons (Licensed for
academic use
only) , MICROMEDEX(Martind
ale’s).
EMBASE , Web
IV compatibility MICROMEDEX (Trissel's) Lippincott's Nursing Drug
Guide

18. Drug Information Resources: Resource
Descriptions
Resource Name Search
Help
Publication
Type
Quality
Indicators
Notes
AHFS Drug Information
(Stat!Ref)
Tertiary reference text standard
textbook on
pharmacology
Basic & Clinical
Pharmacology
(AccessPharmacy)
Tertiary longstanding
reference in its
12th edition
standard
textbook on
pharmacology
CareNotes
(MICROMEDEX)
Tertiary update dates
stated,
referenced,
editors and
credentials
stated
consumer
oriented
information on
drugs, diseases,
and procedures
CINAHL Complete Help
page
Secondary updated (interval
varies)
some full-text
articles
available; allied
health topics
including

19. ClinicalTrials.gov Primary,Tertia
ry
regular
updates,
produced by
the National
Library of
Medicine
current
information
about clinical
research
studies
Drug Information
Portal(NLM)
Tertiary,
Secondary
search portal
covering a
number of
resources
including
MedlinePlus,
PubMed,
ClinicalTrials.g
ov, LactMed,
etc.
for consumers
and health
professionals
Drug Interaction
Facts (Facts &
Comparisons) Licen
sed for academic
use only.
Tertiary regular updates,
referenced,
online version
of print
reference book
can search for
interactions for
multiple drugs
simultaneously

20. European
Medicines
Agency
(EMEA)
Tertiary EMEA is a
decentralized
body of the
European
Union
browse the
alphabetical list
by brand name
under List of
Authorized
Products OR
search by
brand
FDA web site Primary, Tertiary regular updates,
US Government
website
provides
information on
FDA
regulations, new
drug approvals,
public health
alerts
EMBASE (Drug
s
&Pharmacology
)
Secondary updated (interval
varies)
international in
scope; focus on
clinical,experim
ental
pharmacologyy
and kinetics.

21. NexisUni Secondary updated daily some full-text
articles
available;
medical/health
news
Orange Book FAQ Tertiary monthly
updates,
produced by
the FDA
approved drug
products with
therapeutic
equivalence
evaluations
PubMed Help page Secondary updated daily,
prepared by
the National
Library of
Medicine
identification
of solid dosage
forms available
in the US --
beta product
Pharmacothera
py: A
Pathophysiolog
ic Approach,
9th ed (DiPiro)
Tertiary updated as
deemed
necessary,
editors and
credentials
stated
search all
of browse
textbook by
core
pharmacothera
py

22. REFERENCE:
• https://guides.lib.uw.edu/c.php?g=99129&p=642395.
• https://hsl.lib.umn..edu/biomed/help/primary-
secondary-and-teritory-sources-health-sciences.