VanOsdol Lecture: Drug Information Resources for Consumers (and you!

)

Context
There are over 10,000 FDA-approved prescription drugs and biologics. 300,000
over-the-counter products are available on the market.

Pharmacists are the health care professionals responsible for the provision of
information on these drugs, and they must be able to locate this information.

Drug Information
Drug information is carefully evaluated, literature-supported evidence to justify
specific medication use practices to enhance the quality of patient care and
improve patient outcomes.

When providing drug information, a pharmacist must:
Evaluate and interpret the appropriate drug information needs for the person,
whether they are patients, families of patients, caregivers, health care
professionals and other personnel.
Systematically search, retrieve, and evaluate literature and other resources in
response to a request.
Effectively communicate drug information, keeping in mind the background of
the recipient.

Drug Information Resources for Healthcare Providers
Sources with FDA-approved
indications only
Sources with FDA-approved and off-
label uses
Physicians Desk Reference
DailyMed
Package Insert
Manufacturers Website
Micromedex
Drug Information Handbook (i.e.
Lexicomp)
Facts & Comparisons
American Hospital Formulary System
(AHFS)
(Consumer Drug Information
Resources)

FDA-labeled indication
The FDA approved label printed within the package of the drug provide the
following information:
Indication (only those FDA- approved)
- Who should take it
- Adverse effects
- Instructions for uses in pregnancy, children, and other populations
- Safety information

Prescribing Information
Prescribing information is located on the package insert (PI), Physicians Desk
Reference, DailyMed, and the manufacturers website. PI is tailored as a
reference for health care professionals. PI contains the following information:
FDA-approved indications
Adverse effects
Safety Information (Contraindications and warnings, drug interactions)
Dosing and administration
Pharmacology and pharmacokinetics

DailyMed
DailyMed is a government funded website from the National Library of Medicine
(NLM). It contains the most current prescribing information for over 61,000
drugs.
It may include:
Strengthened warnings undergoing FDA review
Minor editorial changes
DailyMed provides access to drug labels. The labels are reformatted, making
information easier to read.
DailyMed contains the link to the product identification system called PillBox,
which is also maintained by NLM.


Drug Information Handbook
Lexi-Comp publishes the Drug Information Handbook (which is why it is
sometimes referred to as Lexi-Comp). It is available both electronically and in
hard copy.

It contains over 1500 monographs of drugs. It contains the following
information:
FDA-approved and off-label indications
Dosage
Drug Interactions
Adverse reactions
Contraindications
Available formulations

Drug Information Resources
When delivering information to consumers, avoid medical jargon. Give complete,
but general information.

There are many criteria, which may help someone recognize a credible online
source from a biased, or inaccurate one:
Is this source credible? Does the source state the owner/ sponsor of the
webpage? What are the credentials of the author?
Is the information accurate and current? Check the frequency of updates.
Is the information appropriately detailed and referenced? Information
without references should receive low weight in decision-making.
Does the site contain contact information?
Does the site link to other nonaffiliated sites that consistently provide god
information?

Health on the Net Foundation
The HON code is bestowed upon non- governmental health information websites,
which meet the foundations 8 principles:
Authoritative- Qualifications of authors
Complementarity- Supports but does not replace doctor- patient relationships
Privacy- Personal data submitted to site remains confidential
Attribution- Sources of information are cited and data
Justifiability- Claims made on site are supported
Transparency- Authors are accessible with up-to-date contact information
Financial disclosure- Funding sources
Advertising policy- Advertisements are clearly identified

Sites with HON Codes Sites without HON Codes
Drugs.com
MayoClinic.org
WebMD.com
MedicineNet.com
HealthCentral.com
RxList.com
Wikipedia
Manufacturer Websites

Government websites (No HON code,
but known to be accurate)

Government Websites
Government health websites provide evidence-based, unbiased information of
extremely high quality. Key resources provided by the government include:
National Institutes of Health (NIH.GOV)
National Library of Medicine (NLM.NIH.GOV)
Oversees PubMed/Medline, MedlinePlus databases
Consumer Health Information
Extensive drug information resources
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA.GOV)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC.GOV)
Information on vaccinations, chronic diseases, and travel health
Conclusions
Drug labels and package inserts contain information only related to FDA-
approved indications
Other tertiary sources (e.g. Lexi-Comp) provide more comprehensive
information on the various uses of OTC and prescription drugs
It is important to teach patients how to look up high-quality and unbiased drug
information sources
Websites with the HON code and government websites are highly reliable sources
of consumer and professional drug information
Various drug information resources present information in different levels of
detail, often with different informationusing multiple resources is key