Medicines information resources
Medicines Information is an NHS pharmacy-based service which aims to support the safe, effective and efficient use of medicines by providing evidence based information on medicines and advice on their therapeutic use.
Medicines information practitioners are best placed to conduct in depth information searches on specific medicines. For details of Medicines Information centres, please visit the ASMIP Community.
Commonly used resources
British National Formulary (BNF) (via Medicines Complete)
Essential reference providing up-to-date guidance on prescribing, dispensing, and administering medicines.
British National Formulary for Children (BNFC) (via Medicines Complete)
The British National Formulary in relation to children.
Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC)
Up to date, approved and regulated prescribing and patient information for licensed medicines
Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in psychiatry, 14th ed (eBook)
Essential evidence-based handbook on the safe and effective prescribing of psychotropic agents.
Palliative Care Formulary (via Medicines Complete)
Drug information related to adult patients facing progressive life-limiting diseases.
Drug administration via enteral feeding tubes (via Medicines Complete) Information on the administration of drugs via enteral feeding tubes.
PCF’s Syringe Driver Database
Content is integrated into Drug Compatibility Checker on Medicines Complete. No access to the wider content on Drug Compatibility Checker.
Meyler’s side effects of drugs (16th ed, 2016) (eBook)
Encyclopedia of adverse drug reactions and interactions.
Stockley’s drug Interactions (via Medicines Complete)
Over 4,500 detailed records related to drug interactions.
Stockley’s interaction checker (via Medicines Complete)
Supports health professionals safely manage the selection of drugs at the point of care. Please us in conjunction with Stockley's drug interactions for the fullest information.
Martindale: the complete drug reference (via Medicines Complete)
Information on conventional/ complementary drugs and associated compounds, international proprietary names, and disease treatments.
Briggs Drugs in pregnancy and lactation, 12th ed (eBook)
A reference guide to fetal and neonatal risk.
Critical Illness (via Medicines Complete)
Essential drug information supporting the critical care multi-disciplinary team
Herbal Medicines (via Medicines Complete)
Guide to the traditional uses and pharmacological properties of common herbal medicines
Kucers’ the user of antibiotics (via Medicines Complete)
Outlines the clinical use of all antimicrobials - antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitic and antiviral agents
Drugs during pregnancy and lactation: treatment options and risk assessment, 3rd ed 2015 (eBook)
Reference for staff covering fertility, pregnancy, lactation, child health and human genetic specialties.
Briggs Drugs in pregnancy and lactation, 12th ed (eBook)
A reference guide to fetal and neonatal risk
Renal Drug Database
Over 800 drug monographs with information on clinical use, dosing, important drug interactions, metabolism and drug administration. Please contact knowledge@nes.scot.nhs.uk to arrange a personal login for this database.
Micromedex (DrugDex, Reprorisk, IV Index)
Platform giving access to several databases including-
- Alternative Medicine - evidence-based monographs on herbals, dietary supplements, and information on alternative therapies.
- DrugDex - drug information for those who prescribe, order, dispense, or administer medications
- Imprint Codes in Identidex - pill identification tool
- Interaction Checking - drug interaction tool
- IV Compatibility - tool to asses IV compatibility
- Martindale - Information on conventional/ complementary drugs and associated compounds, international proprietary names, and disease treatments.
- Reprorisk - reproductive drug information on drugs chemicals and environmental agents
- Also includes resources such as ‘do not crush list’, drug class information, Black Box warnings, dosage and class comparison tables
TRAVAX
Clinical travel health information (registration required via the TRAVAX website)
BMJ Best Practice
Point of care tool supporting evidence based clinical decision making from diagnosis to treatment.
DynaMed
Clinical reference tool containing evidence-based information, to support clinicians to make informed decisions quickly and easily at the point of care.
ClinicalKey clinical overviews
Evidence-based summaries of common clinical conditions.
Cochrane Clinical Answers
A point of care resource that uses and links to high level research from Cochrane systematic reviews.
NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries
Accessible summaries of current evidence and practical guidance on best practice from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Cochrane Library
Key resource for accessing high quality systematic reviews and randomised control trial research.
EMBASE
Major health, pharmacological and biomedical literature database covering about 3,300 journals from 110 countries, with strong coverage of European journals.
MEDLINE (Ovid platform)
US National Library of Medicine database covering worldwide medical literature. Includes over 5000 journals published in the USA and 70 other countries.
Scottish Medicines Consortium
National source of advice on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of all new medicines for NHSScotland.
Specialist Pharmacy Service
Medicines information platform funded by NHS England.
Medicines information apps
BMJ Best Practice
BNF
ClinicalKey
DynaMed
Micromedex Drug Interactions
Yellow card- MHRA
The Yellow Card Scheme app contains a suite a useful features for both healthcare professionals and members of the public in the area of medicines, e-cigarettes and medical device safety reporting.
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