Free Essay On Pharmacology

Introduction

In today’s ever growing information technology, doctors, pharmacists, and other professionals involved in the healthcare sector have found online resources helpful in their practice. One such online resource is the Drugs.com website which was developed in 1994 by Bonnie Neubeck. However, the official launch of the website took place in September 2001. The drugs.com website is considered as the most comprehensive and popular online resource on drug information which is updated on a daily basis. The information provided is peer-reviewed, precise, and free. Till date, the website holds information of more than 24,000 OTC drugs, prescription drugs, and other supplements. The drugs.com was primarily develop to target US-based healthcare professionals to provide information such as drug index, drug interactions, and images of medications sold in the US. The website is considered as a medical encyclopedia. Some of the features that the website holds is mentioned here below:
Pill Identifier: Most doctors or healthcare professionals observe that generic medications change on a monthly basis (color or shape). The drugs.com website pill identification tool would help in identifying such medications based on the shape, size, imprint, or color. Since the database is upgraded daily, generic pill details would be provided instantaneously.
Information about Drug Side Effects: The drug side-effects information section provides healthcare professionals and pharmacists about the side-effects of prescription and over the counter drugs. The side-effects provided will be based on the patient details such as age, gender, weight, ethnicity, and current disease state. (Stone VL, et al. 1998)
A-Z Drug Facts: The drugs.com website has the most famous Wolters Kluwer Health drug information incorporated. This resources has been considered the best for over five decades. All information including fact files and monographs of drugs are provided in this section. This section is used by the entire medical fraternity including nurses and medical students.
Phonetic and Wildcard Search: A unique tool to help healthcare professionals to search or identify correct medication information and spelling only by providing the right pronunciation. The section is at beta-stage but is growing at a fast pace.
Drug Interactions Checker: Drug interactions can be life-threatening and hence needs proper medical supervision. The drug interactions checker would help the healthcare professional to understand the mechanism involved in drug interactions and also provide the magnitude of the interaction (minor, moderate, or major). This section also provides recommended action plan in the event of an adverse event. (Hanrahan CT, Cole SW. 2014)
Drug Index A to Z: This tool provides information on all drugs listed from A to Z including over the counter and supplements. The most widely used tool over the website.
Medical Dictionary by Stedman's: Providing the most renowned medical dictionary over an online medical resource not only helps but increases the usage of the resource. The medical dictionary provides medical information from the Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 28th Edition. The dictionary consists of pronunciations, medical definitions, and medical terms.
Limitations of the resource: Since the resource is primarily meant for US-based healthcare professionals, other professionals around the globe may not be able to use the resource. The website has a disclaimer stating that the information is for educational purposes only and that medical advice is required for any information provided. (Wozar JA, Worona PC. 2003)

Conclusions

The drugs.com is a comprehensive, user-friendly, and free online medical resource. Some of the major advantages of this resource is that it is accurate, peer-reviewed, free, and includes a medical dictionary. The website also has a mobile application which provides the same information. The resource is also packed with the latest news in the healthcare sector and is recommended for healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

Reference

Stone VL, Fishman DL, Frese DB. Searching online and Web-based resources for information on natural products used as drugs. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. 1998; 86(4):523-527.
Wozar JA, Worona PC. The use of online information resources by nurses. Journal of the Medical Library Association. 2003; 91(2):216-221.
Hanrahan CT, Cole SW. Assessment of drug information resource preferences of pharmacy students and faculty. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA. 2014; 102(2):117-121. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.102.2.012.
Drugs.com [Internet] Drug information. [Updated 01 March 2015] Cited: 06 March 2015] Available from: http://www.drugs.com/