1	Introduction to Drug Information Resources Health Professions Division Library
2	Categories of Drug Information Literature What are Primary Information Sources? Information Sources are classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary depending on the originality of the information presented and their proximity to the source of information they report. Primary Sources are original materials which report original thinking or discoveries on which other subsequent research is based, and they are usually the first formal publication of research results either in print or electronic format. Kinds of Primary Literature Sources include: Journal Articles reporting original research results Proceedings of Meetings and Conferences, and Symposia Dissertations or Theses Technical Reports and Patents
3	Categories of Drug Information Literature What are Secondary Information Sources? Secondary Sources are Databases which Index or Abstract the Primary Literature, and are used to systematically locate various types of published primary literature. Bibliographic Databases – PubMed, EMBASE, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts – primary databases for Pharmacy Each record within a bibliographic database typically provides an abstract and precise indexing terms to fully describe what a given publication or article is about. Bibliographic databases abstract and index vast numbers of primary literature publications, enabling the searcher to scan large amounts of information quickly.
4	Categories of Drug Information Literature What are Tertiary Sources of Information? A general way to define tertiary sources is that they are compilations of assembled information or evaluations of literature presented in certain formats. In Pharmacy/Pharmacology, the most frequently used tertiary resources are Pharmacopeias, Compendia, Formularies, Reference Books, and their electronic database counterparts. The information presented in tertiary literature is core knowledge established from the primary literature or accepted as standard of practice within the medical community. Drug information contained in the tertiary literature is generally well-established information.
5	Hierarchy of Information Sources in the Information Cycle
6	Specific Tertiary Sources in Pharmacy Established print-based Drug Compendia, Reference Manuals, and Pharmacopeias include: United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) Martindale’s Drug Facts & Comparisons Mosby’s Drug Consult AHFS Drug Information Tertiary Drug Database Sources which are available online via NSU include searchable databases such as: Micromedex Clinical Pharmacology Natural Medicines Natural Standard
7	Specific Tertiary Sources in Pharmacy NSU has searchable electronic textbook versions of the following print resources: Mosby’s Drug Consult AHFS Drug Information USP DI Facts and Comparisons (abridged version) Physician’s Desk Reference Martindale’s Common types of questions answered by these sources include questions about Adverse Effects, Indications/Contraindications, Drug Identification, Interactions, Dosing, Toxicology Information, and use in Pregnancy Most of your Drug Information questions will be answered by Tertiary Sources in your “real world” setting
8	When Should Secondary Sources be Consulted? When Tertiary Sources fail to answer your Drug Information Question When you need additional background information on a drug to update what you have found in tertiary sources When time constraints limit your access to the primary literature –secondary sources can help you answer questions- secondary sources in this instance are a resource, not just a gateway to the primary literature Secondary sources make searching enormous amounts of literature feasible No single secondary source is all-inclusive- be cognizant of the retrospective data limitations of each database Hand-searching may be necessary to do an exhaustive search and complete your due diligence
9	Secondary Databases in Pharmacy The ‘Big Three’ Bibliographic Databases that cover the published literature in Pharmacy and Pharmacology are- PubMed/MEDLINE EMBASE.com International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) Each of these databases index and abstract the primary literature, and each of these databases also utilize a controlled vocabulary system to facilitate searching. To search these databases effectively, it is helpful to learn the advanced search techniques that each of these databases employs to allow you to find literature that specifically need to consult.
10	PubMed/MEDLINE PubMed/MEDLINE is the pre-eminent biomedical database in the world, covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy/pharmacology, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. PubMed/MEDLINE contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from more than 4,900 biomedical journals. The database contains over 16 million citations dating back to the mid-1800s. 127 Journals indexed are Pharmacy/Pharmacology specific Coverage of journals is worldwide, but most records are from English-language sources or have English abstracts MEDLINE is one of the subsets of information contained in PubMED - it is not the equivalent of PubMed! Interface is continuously evolving and adding functionality Roughly 1800 new records are added to PubMed daily
11	EMBASE.com EMBASE.com indexes over 4,800 journals from 70 countries; is updated weekly; coverage goes back to 1974, with MEDLINE records from 1966. Database contains More than 18 million records with abstracts and citations. The European “counterpart” to PubMed/MEDLINE. EMBASE indexes journals emanating primarily from Europe and Asia. Approximately 35% overlap of journals covered with PubMed – indexes about 1,800 journals which PubMed does not You will tend to retrieve more citations on a search on a drug name in EMBASE Provides comprehensive coverage of pharmacy, pharmacology, toxicology, with detailed subject headings for drugs – indexers use Manufacturers' and drug trade names more frequently than PubMed- Excellent resource for identifying foreign drugs and anesthetic agents Indexes over 670 journals within Pharmacy, Pharmacology, and Medicinal Chemistry Data Type- Abstract-level coverage with links to Full-Text
12	International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) was introduced by The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in the late 60s. Coverage: Includes bibliographic and abstract information from over 850 pharmaceutical, medical, and health-related journals published worldwide since 1970. IPA indexes Pharmacy related journals only! The IPA adds approximately 18,000 records annually and covers international literature in applied pharmacology. Focused on drug therapy and pharmaceutical information. Contains the abstracts of papers from all pharmacy related meetings of the ASHP.
13	International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) Best source for background articles on starting a new pharmacy service and for pharmacy management-related topics, pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical education, and the legal aspects of pharmacy and drugs. A unique feature of abstracts included for clinical studies is the inclusion of the study design, number of patients, dosage, dosage forms, and dosage schedule. All U.S. State pharmacy journals are indexed as well as most publications on cosmetics.