Editorial and Content Policy
Editorial Policy
Drugs.com mission is to be the Internet’s most trusted resource for drug and related health information. We are achieving this by presenting independent, objective, comprehensive and up-to-date information in a clear and concise format for both consumers and healthcare professionals.
The Drugs.com site-designers and engineers aim is to provide visitors with an intuitive, user friendly website which is easy to navigate and provides rapid access to the extensive range of drug and related databases we have available. If you have problems with navigation or would like to suggest changes, please email us here. We review all comments about site-design and navigability at weekly design meetings.
The information available on the Drugs.com website is displayed under a number of licensing agreements with various publishers. For our drug-database information, we rely on the solid reputation of our suppliers: the Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR), Cerner Multum, Micromedex and Wolters Kluwer Health.
Drugs.com does not alter the drug information supplied by these companies. However, we acknowledge that errors and omissions in drug information may occasionally occur.
As our mission is to provide the most accurate, up-to-date drug information on the Internet, we ask our visitors to alert us immediately to any errors in content, including incorrect or misleading statements, by contacting us here. We aim to correct site-content errors within 48 hours.
Editorial Staff
The Drugs.com editorial team is comprised of registered pharmacists. Our editors constantly seek to improve the quality and usability of the Drugs.com web site.
The senior pharmacists on the editorial team are:- Judith Stewart - Information Systems Pharmacist
Bachelor of Pharmacy, 1986
University of Queensland
Brisbane
Australia - Philip Thornton - Pharmacist
Diploma in Pharmacy, 1980
Central Institute of Technology
Wellington, NZ - Karen Wilson - Information Systems Pharmacist
Diploma in Pharmacy, 1980
Central Institute of Technology
Wellington, NZ
Content Policy
The information available on the Drugs.com website is displayed under a number of licensing agreements with the various publishers listed below.
Drugs.com Medicine and Health Information.
- Thomson Reuters - Micromedex
- Physicians’ Desk Reference
- Cerner Multum
- Wolters Kluwer Health
- FDA Approved Product Labels
- The A.D.A.M. Illustrated Health Encyclopedia
- Stedman’s Medical Dictionary
- North American Compendium’s Veterinary Product Database
- New Drugs - PharmaLive & FDA
- News & Articles - HealthDay & PharmaLive
- The Drugs.com Newsletter
Special Features
Drugs.com Drug Search Results
The Drugs.com drug database is powered by four main sources: Cerner Multum (“Multum"), Wolters Kluwer Health, Thomson Reuters - Micromedex (including Physicians’ Desk Reference) and products labels approved by the Food and Drug Administration. When you search on a drug name, the search results page may offer the drug information in any of three formats:
- Consumer Information, in English and Spanish
- Advanced Consumer Information
- Professional Information
Thomson Reuters - Micromedex
Drugs.com presents drug information from two Thomson Reuters - Micromedex publications: The Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR) and Micromedex Detailed Drug Information for the Consumer.
PDR Consumer Drug Information is written in lay terms and is based on the FDA-approved drug information found in the PDR. It gives consumers plain-English explanations for the safe and effective use of prescription and non-prescription drugs—explanations that are consistent with the information professionals are referencing in the PDR.
Micromedex Detailed Drug Information for the Consumer contains advanced consumer information about medicines. Micromedex Detailed Drug Information for the Consumer presents drug information that is compiled and intensively reviewed by an editorial staff that includes physicians, pharmacists, nurses, toxicologists and other qualified drug experts.
To find out more about the Thomson Reuters - Micromedex editorial process, click here.Cerner Multum
Multum supplies Consumer Information about drugs. Multum’s content is written by full-time associates who have no affiliations with drug companies, using a combination of sources. Initial References include the Product Information/Package Insert, primary literature and information from standards groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Physicians and pharmacists review the new information and make any necessary changes; all leaflets are reviewed by one or more practicing clinical specialists. Content is verified using secondary references that include standard authoritative medical textbooks and the Multum Expert Review Panel.
Wolters Kluwer Health
Wolters Kluwer Health is a leading provider of information for professionals and students in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. Wolters Kluwer Health drug information product, "Facts & Comparisons", has been the pharmacists’ source for drug information for more than fifty years. Drugs.com displays Facts & Comparisons Integrated MedFacts consumer drug information, A to Z Drugs Facts, Natural Products Consumer Database and Review of Natural Products.
- Facts & Comparisons Integrated MedFacts leaflets provide consumer drug information.
- A to Z Drugs Facts provides information for the healthcare provider in an easy to understand and accessible format.
- Natural Products Consumer Database provides an up-to-date source of popular natural product information based on scientific research.
- Review of Natural Products information provides professional monographs on more than 300 natural products.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Approved Products Labels
Food and Drug Administration product labels provide Professional Information about drugs. Drugs.com professional information presents product monographs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and compiled by drug manufacturers. Drugs.com reformats the style of these monographs, but the content is a duplicate of FDA-approved labeling.
The Drugs.com Illustrated Health Encyclopedia
The Drugs.com encyclopedia database is supplied by A.D.A.M., Inc., publishers of original content health articles. Most of A.D.A.M.’s health articles are initially developed by physicians, then reviewed by the A.D.A.M. Content Review Board, which consists of physicians who are specialists in their fields.
A.D.A.M. updates between 300 and 600 articles per quarter, and topics are tagged for review depending on how quickly the field is changing. Their editorial policy is to objectively communicate the current standard of medical practice in a given area. A.D.A.M.’s visuals are similarly conceptualized, created and reviewed by highly skilled medical illustrators and most are reviewed by appropriate medical specialists for accuracy and clarity.
A.D.A.M. subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation and is accredited by URAC (also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission).
To learn more about A.D.A.M.’s editorial process, click here.
Stedman’s Medical Dictionary
The Drugs.com medical dictionary is powered by Stedmans, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkin. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins is a leading international publisher of professional health information for physicians, nurses, specialized clinicians and students. Since 1911, Stedman’s Medical Dictionary has been the medical profession’s most trusted source for medical definitions. A complete medical terms dictionary, Steadman’s Electronic Medical Dictionary contains over 107,000 medical terms taken directly from Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 28th Edition.
Veterinary Product Database
The Drugs.com Veterinary Product Database is an online version of the Compendium of Veterinary Products published by North American Compendiums. North American Compendiums is in the business of building, managing, maintaining and marketing data and databases in the animal health, crop chemical and human health industries in the USA and Canada.Special Features
The Drugs.com database includes these additional interactive resources:
- Drug Interactions Checker
This feature provides a list of reactions that may occur when different drugs are taken at the same time. The user selects drugs names from a drop-down list of drugs in the Drugs.com database. Content for the Drug Interactions Checker is provided by Cerner Multum.
- Pill Identification
This feature helps to identify unknown medications or medications whose label has been lost. Content for Pill Identification is provided by Cerner Multum and Thomson Reuters - Micromedex.
- Image Search
This feature presents images of drugs when a search is done by drug name. Content for Image Search is provided by Cerner Multum.
New Drugs
This section reports on drugs that have recently been approved for marketing by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and newly approved indications for drugs previously approved. The information in this area is displayed under license from PharmaLive.
News & Articles
This section provides the latest health news aimed at the consumer and a variety of clinical and industry news articles aimed at the health professional related to the development, efficacy and safety of prescription and non-prescription drugs and supplements. News and articles are sourced from Healthday and PharmaLive.The Drugs.com Newsletter
This newsletter includes features about FDA approvals of new drugs and indications, prescribing trends, updates on disease management and more. To subscribe, click here
Consumer Reports WebWatch
Drugs.com supports the Consumer Reports WebWatch guidelines to promote credible information practices on the Web. For more information click here.
Updated: October 5, 2009
