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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 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: 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.

Referencing articles on Drugs.com

For reference and citation guidelines, please refer to this page.

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:
  • Leigh Ann Anderson - Senior Editorial Pharmacist
    BS, PharmD, with specialized residency in Drug Information
    University of Florida - Shands Hopsital; Post-doc residency, Drug Information 1992 – 1993
    Campbell University College of Pharmacy; PharmD, Pharmacy 1990 – 1992
  • 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
  • Carmen Fookes - Editorial Pharmacist
    PGradDipClinPharm, Otago University, Dunedin, NZ
    PGradCertPsychPharm, Aston University, Birmingham, England
    BPharm, Otago University, Dunedin, NZ
  • Melisa Puckey, Editorial Pharmacist
    Bachelor of Pharmacy, 1991
    University of Otago
    Dunedin, 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.

Special Features

Drugs.com Drug Search Results

The Drugs.com drug database is powered by four main sources: Cerner Multum ("Multum"), Wolters Kluwer Health, Micromedex 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:

Micromedex

Drugs.com presents drug information from Micromedex Micromedex Detailed Drug Information for the Consumer.

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 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.

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists'

AHFS DI from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' (ASHP) is the most comprehensive source of unbiased and authoritative drug information available to health professionals today. A wholly independent staff of drug information pharmacists and other professional editorial and analytical staff thoroughly research AHFS DI content. Authors incorporate clinical research findings, therapeutic guidelines, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved labeling to ensure that monographs include an evidence-based foundation for safe and effective drug therapy.

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.

National Library of Medicine

National Library of Medicine’s LactMed Database is a peer-reviewed and fully referenced database of drugs to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. Among the data included are maternal and infant levels of drugs, possible effects on breastfed infants and on lactation, and alternate drugs to consider.

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.

Harvard Health Publications

Drugs.com publishes Harvard Health Topics A to Z and Harvard Health Decision Guides (used in our Symptom Checker). Harvard Health Publications is the publishing division of the Harvard Medical School of Harvard University and draws on the expertise of the 9,000 faculty physicians to provide authoritative and trustworthy consumer health information. The Harvard Medical School was founded in 1782 and encompasses 18 affiliated hospitals with more than 10,000 members of the faculty, including more than 9,000 clinical physicians.

Mayo Clinic

Drugs.com publishes Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Disease A-Z Format and other information through a formal licensing agreement. Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated nonprofit medical group practice in the world, employing more than 3,800 physicians and scientists and 50,900 allied health staff. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised. Content is updated on a monthly basis.

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, Stedman'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:

  • Pill Identification
    This feature helps to identify unknown medications. Pill Identification data and imagery is provided by FDA, National Library of Medicine, Cerner Multum, Micromedex and directly from the manufacturer.
  • Symptom Checker
    Use the Drugs.com Symptom Checker to help you understand your medical symptoms and make informed decisions about your health and wellness.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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.

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: November 24, 2015

Drugs.com Mobile Apps

The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records. Available for Android and iOS devices.

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