DRUG INFORMATION SOURCES
From DrugPedia: A Wikipedia for Drug discovery
DRUG INFORMATION SOURCES
Most useful drug information sources are textbooks, drug reference books, drug compendia and journal articles. They provide information about established drugs and furnish information for understanding newer ones. However, they do not include many other details such as trade names, physical and chemical properties, identification criteria, standards of purity and strength, methods of storage and dosage range for therapeutic use which are necessary from a legal point of view for drug control. All these details of drugs are provided by Pharmacopoeias and Formulary. They are collectively known as Drug Compendia. Pharmacopoeias are prepared by a committee, which usually has predominance of physicians. Formulary is prepared by a committee, which usually has predominance of pharmacists. Then there are non-official sources of information.Pharmacopoeia: It is an official code containing a selected list of the established drugs and medicinal preparations with descriptions of their physical properties, identification, purity, potency and the minimum standard required and the average dose for adults. Each country has its own pharmacopeia. For example:
- British Pharmacopeia
- United States Pharmacopeia
- Indian Pharmacopeia
- European Pharmacopeia
- Russian Pharmacopeia
- International Pharmacopeia
Formulary: It includes information on drugs, other pharmaceutical products and formulated products in the respective countries.
- British National Formulary is published by the British Medical Association
- National Formulary is published by American Pharmaceutical Association.
- National Formulary of India is published by the Government of India.
Non- Official Compendia
They are secondary sources of drug information which give useful and miscellaneous information about drugs for pharmacists and medical practitioners. They include both generic and trade names of the drugs. The information is not limited to drugs which are approved for use by legally constituted committee of that country. Some examples of non-official compendia are:
1. AMA Drug Evaluation: by American Medical Association 2. Drug Information for the Health Care Profession: by United States Pharmacopeial Convention Inc. Maryland, USA 3. Modern Drug Encyclopedia: by Yorke Medical Books, New York, U.S.A. 4. Martindale Extra Pharmacopeia: by Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain 5. Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR): by Medical Economies Publication, U.S.A. 6. Remington's Pharmaceutical Science: by Mack Publishing Company, U.S.A. 7. United States Dispensary (USD): by Lippincot Publications, U.S.A.
