Mulford Library Blog

By Janice

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a report which cautions against solely relying on the PDR. (The Physicians Desk Reference is based on package inserts supplied by drug manufacturers). Information from preclinical studies and clinical trials often is often lost between between an FDA review and the approved label. Missing information may include data on harms and efficacy. Additionally the authors believe “a sense of uncertainty about the net benefit of drugs is almostalways lost”. While the FDA is addressing the incompleteness of drug labels, the Mulford Library would like to emphasize not only its LibGuide for drug resources (many going beyond the PDR basics) , but its literature search services for faculty and staff who are strapped by time or are having challenging research questions.

Also, remember there are many ways to Ask-A-Health Science Librarian for personalized reference assistance.

The Micromedex Health Care Series (available only on the UT-HSC campus) contains a wide range of evidence based information  including drugs, toxicology, diseases, acute care, and alternative medicine.

A sampling of information accessible through the tabs:
Drugs
*Review extensive drug information (including generics) with references
*Specific database search provides summaries, consults, evaulations (comparisons with similar drugs)
* Compare drug summaries in a side by side format
*Therapeutic classes
*Black Box Warnings

Toxicology
*Toxic Substance list
–searchable by product/substance, imprint code, active ingredientm and product ID
– option to look up AAPCC codes
*Drug Identification interface including imprint code, shape, color, and pattern
*Specific Database Search includes select material from POISINDEX® Managements
*Specific Topic Search includes search refinements as clincial effects, range of toxicity, laboratory monitoring, and treatment

Interactions
*By entering any number of drugs, up to 128 concurrent clinical conflicts can be reviewed on the spot

Patient Ed
*Includes the Care Note sytem where one may personalize a patient handout

Please do not hesitate to contact Mulford Reference Assistance with your informational and research needs.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is the nation’s only 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to medication error prevention and safe medication use. The organization strives to provide impartial, timely, and accurate medication safety information.
The Institute’s initiatives seek to improve the medication use process. These initiatives, which are built upon a non-punitive approach and system-based solutions, fall into five key areas: knowledge, analysis, education, cooperation, and communication.
Although some products require a subscription, many resources are free.

A sampling…
Education and Awareness Resourcesfor health care practitioners and consumers include newsletters, consulting services, and consumer tips
Medication Safety Tools and Resourcescontains links to a confused drug name list, textbook errata, an error-prone abbreviation list, and much more
Productsavailable through their online store include books, posters, brochures, videos, and pocket guides

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Mulford Reference Assistance.