Brief Analysis of Sources of Drug Information

Drug information provides useful and necessary details about a drug. This information can be accessed online or through other publications. Fast and easy access to information regarding any prescribed drug can be found online on multiple websites. Mobile phone apps also offer quick access to sources of drug information that can also be accessed offline. Sources of drug information can be commercial and in verbal or written form. 

Benefits of Drug Information 

The benefits of having drug information include the:

• Reduction in drug-related problems
• Increased provider and patient satisfaction
• Improvement in medication adherence
• Improvement in patient compliance and patient safety
• Improvement in the distribution of drugs without further issues
• Reduction in medical abuse and an improved cost of drug management 

Primary Source of Drug Information

Examples of a primary source of drug information include:

• Peer-reviewed journals
• Textbooks 
• Research (books and other publications) 
• National Formulary of India
• Monthly Index of Medical Specialists
• Indian Drug Review

Primary sources of drug information include unpublished studies and articles with original data published in highly reputed peer-reviewed journals of pharmacy containing new ideas and original research. It is difficult to evaluate and interpret research articles because it requires expertise and time. Randomised controlled trials provide reliability to the results of the experiments.

Drug Information Centres

Centres for drug information provide critical evaluation, well-referenced, up-to-date, and impartial drug information.

Drug information centres play an important role in providing accurate information about various drugs. Drug information centres provide details on medications that reduce the chances of errors and support pharmaceutical companies. Drug information centres authenticate unbiased data on a drug, which is useful in solving queries related to medication. Drug information centres provide information to ensure that appropriate drugs are used for medication, which provide minimum toxicity and develop antimicrobial resistance. 

Drug information centres can be classified into the following three types:

• Industry-based 
• Hospital-based 
• Community-based 

Before reaching the market, information regarding the reliability, validity, and availability of a particular drug should be thoroughly tested. This information is helpful in improving the safety protocols and guidelines related to a particular drug. 

Second Source of Drug Information

The second source of drug information is in the form of references or indexes of primary sources of drug information. The purpose of a second source of drug information is to direct the user to the primary literature which is relevant to their search. Examples of secondary sources of drug information include Medline and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA).

Other Sources of Drug Information

In addition to the sources mentioned above, other sources of drug information include promotional materials from pharmaceutical representatives/companies and information directly from medical peers.

Ways to Search for Sources of Drug Information

The internet is a useful tool for medical and non-medical personnel to search for sources of drug information. When searching for sources of drug information, the most systematic ways to search for a particular article often requires the article’s title or the author’s name and the Digital Object Identifier number. When searching using the journal’s name, the title mentioned in the index by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is required. 

Conclusion

Drug information provides accurate information about drugs to ensure its proper usage and minimise problems regarding those drugs. There are many advantages of having drug information, which include increased satisfaction among patients and providers, reduced drug-related problems, and more. Other sources of drug information include drug information centres which provide information about the proper usage of drugs.