APPRAISING

SOURCES OF PHARMACY INFORMATICS

INFORMATION
Sources of Information
• Oral
• Written or Printed
• Primary literature
• original article, research or case reports published in journals, presentations and
proceedings
• Secondary literature
• abstracting and indexing services, review articles
• Tertiary literature
• textbooks, compendia, full-text databases

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Printed Info Sources
• Textbooks
• Journals
• Individual Files
• Manual Indexes
• Computerized databases
• Internet

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 Biomedical Journals
• Lancet http://www.thelancet.com/

• JAMA http://jama.ama-assn.org/
• BMJ http://www.bmjjournals.com/
• Annals Int. Med. http://www.annals.org/
• Arch. Int. Med. http://archinte.ama-assn.org/
• NEJM http://content.nejm.org/
• Am J Health Sys Pharm http://www.ajhp.org/
• Am J Pharm Ed http://www.ajpe.org/
• Annals of Pharmacotherapy http://www.theannals.com/
• Clinical Pharmacy & Therapeutics
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0269-4727

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Website of Free Medical Journals

http://www.freemedicaljournals.com/

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 Computerized databases
• CD FORMAT ONLINE FORMAT
• MicroMedex
• Current Contents Medline
• Iowa Drug Information Service MicroMedex
(IDIS)
Medscape Fulltext
• Intl Pharm Abstracts
• Medline OVID
• Clinical Pharmacology Health Notes Online
• Mayo Family Pharmacist
WEBSITES
www.medscape.com
www.nlm.nih.gov
www.uspharmacist.com

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Specific Topics
• Pharmacotherapy
• Pediatric Dosing
• Pharmacokinetics
• General Drug Information
• Pharmacology
• Patient Counseling
• Medical Info
• Geriatric Dosing

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 Specific Sources of Info
Pharmacotherapy
Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics
Applied Therapeutics
Washington’s Manual of Medical Therapeutics
Pediatric Dosing
Pediatric Dosage Handbook
Harriet Lane Handbook
Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics
Pharmacokinetics
Basic Clinical Pharmacokinetics
SIMKIN Handbook of Therapeutic Monitoring
Applied Pharmacokinetics
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General Drug Information
AHFS Drug Information
Physician’s Desk Reference
USP Dispensing Information
MicroMedex - DrugDex
Drug Facts & Comparisons
Pharmacology
Goodman & Gilman’s Pharmacological Basis of
Therapeutics
Principles of Pharmacology
Basic and Clinical Pharmacology by Katzung

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 These are computers connected to the to the Internet to
provide a graphical interface to a variety of information that is
available as text, pictures, databases & other electronic files.

The Makes use of Web browsers such as Microsoft Explorer and

Internet- AOL Netscape

WWW Some websites allow downloading of files for free or fee

servers
Quality & quantity of information vary per website

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Good Websites
American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org
American Heart Association www.amhrt.org
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
www.ashp.org
Drug Info Net www.druginfonet.org
American Heart Association www.amhrt.org
American Healthfinder www.healthfinder.gov
Healthline www.healthline.com
Medical Matrix www.medmatrix.org
Onhealth www.onhealth.com
RxList www.rxlist.com
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American Pharmaceutical Association www.aphanet.org
National Consumers League vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fdinter.html
Drug Facts & Comparisons www.factsandcomparisons.com
US Food and Drug Administration www.fda.gov
Sunnybrook Health Sciences
www.icomm.ca/shsc/index/minibag.html
Pharmaceutical Technology Journal www.iptonline.com
The Merck Manual
www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/home.jsp
Pub Med www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
NIAAA www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa27.htm
Safe Medication www.safemedication.com
US Pharmacist www.uspharmacist.com/index.asp
Web MD my.webmd.com
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 • Electronic Bulletin Boards
• List Servers
Alternate Sources of • Local, National & International Organizations
Information
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
• Drug Information and Poison Control Centers

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Appraisal of Info Sources
Textbooks: date of publication,
authorship, agreement with other
sources
Literature Reviews: same as those for
textbooks’ methods of selection
Original Research: abstract, basic
research design, setting, participants,
outcome measures & results

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Categories of Drug Literature
I. PRIMARY
A. Evaluative studies
1. Experimental
- Clinical trial
- Pharmaceutical Research
- Educational Assessment
2. Observational
- Case Control
- Cohort
- Follow-up
- Cross-sectional 16
 B. Descriptive Reports
1. Case reports or series
2. Pharmaceutical practice
3. Clinical series
4. Program
5. Population

II. SECONDARY
A. Manual retrieval systems
B. Computerized retrieval systems

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III. TERTIARY
A. Reference text or databases
B. Compendia
C. Practice Guidelines

IV. OTHER SOURCES

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Session 4 End Activity
Discussion 2
• Evaluate the websites in the link in our Schoology platform
• Use the criteria for evaluating health websites in the .doc file for each of the two
websites.
• Prepare discussion for the next meetings
 TYPES OF
RESEARCH
STUDIES
EVALUATIVE STUDIES
Experimental
the study is designed to answer a
question or a hypothesis in a
prospective manner
involves a measurement of an
intervention
requires control of variables

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EVALUATIVE STUDIES
Observational
the study records the results from an
observation of subjects or a specific set
of data
shows an association between an event
and the environment or other factors
answers a question from what has
already occurred (retrospective)

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EVALUATIVE STUDIES
Observational
Case Control Studies - evaluates a
specific event and its association with
some factors
Ex. Ca Px who took OC vs. Ca Px who did
not take OC
Cohort studies - observe the effects of the
exposure to an agent over time
Ex. Px taking OC vs. Px not taking OC

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EVALUATIVE STUDIES
Observational
Follow-up Studies
evaluate the effect of an agent over time
but is not compared with a control
a large number of patients taking a drug
may be observed over a longer period of
time (i.e. 10 years)
Ex. NSAID users and future hospitalization

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EVALUATIVE STUDIES
Observational
Follow-up Studies
evaluate the effect of an agent over time
but is not compared with a control
a large number of patients taking a drug
may be observed over a longer period of
time (i.e. 10 years)
Ex. NSAID users and future hospitalization

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Components of Evaluative Studies
Title
Author
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion of results
Conclusions
References

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Title- tells about the topic of the article
Author- who conducted the study
Abstract- identifies the purpose, design
and methodology of the study and briefly
reviews the results and the conclusions
Introduction- lays the framework for the
purpose of the study & provides an
overview of the literature that support the
purpose of the study

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Methods
most important part of an evaluative study &
should be appropriate to address the
hypothesis and purpose of the study
contains description of experimental design
and its controls, # of subjects, exclusion and
inclusion criteria, type of blinding, data
analysis method, data collection method,
outcome criteria or expected results of
intervention
Results- organizes and simplifies the raw data
emanating from the study
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Discussion of Results
the author compare his/her finding with similar
studies from the literature
interprets the data and state significance of
the findings
explains inadequacies, limitations, anomalies
in the study and explains them
Conclusions- provides a few sentences summary
of the study’s purpose and results
References- lists of literature cited in the study

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 DESCRIPTIVE REPORTS
explain individual experiences, new
programs, new therapies, or adverse
events
do not involve an experimental procedure
or address a specific hypothesis
just explain what happened and the
perceived outcomes
may be used as basis for evaluative studies

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CASE REPORT
- talks of an individual patient & his/her
experience with a drug
PHARMACEUTICAL PRACTICE
- usually describes a new procedure or
analytical method
CLINICAL SERIES
- collection of reports on a similar topic or
treatment

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Descriptive Report of a PROGRAM
- new pharmacy program instituted
Descriptive Report of a POPULATION
- describes a specific preference or
characteristic of a population

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Components of Descriptive Reports
Title
Author
Abstract
Introduction
Observations- where the details of the
project is described
Discussion- clinical relevance
Conclusions
References

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Components of Review Articles
Title
Author
Abstract
Introduction - explains why the review is
made
Body- examination of the literature
Conclusions
References

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TERTIARY LITERATURE
provides a scholarly overview of a
particular topic at a specific time
used to find factual information
they compile primary literature in a user-
friendly format
highlights the widely accepted
information from the primary literature

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Characteristics of other Sources
Expert report - unpublished report from
an expert, maybe opinion or data from
unpublished evaluative study
Investigator’s brochure - unpublished
information about an investigational drug
Pharmaceutical manufacturer- available
data from the manufacturer which may
be published or unpublished

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