Electronic Drug Information Resources We Have Utilized

PH: As I mentioned when I introduced myself, I have only had a PDA for a short time. Therefore, I have limited experience with drug information resources that are available for the PDA. At this point I have loaded the free version of Epocrates, and have spent a some time using CP Onhand. I have very limited exposure to any of the other available downloadable softwares but look forward to trying them out. I'm sure I will occasionally make comments about some of them as I gain exposure throughout the duration of this course.

My comments on Epocrates to this point are favorable. The free download is limited as to which features of the full software are available for use, however, I find it convenient when I want to look up basic information about a drug and do not have access to an online drug information source. I find the software to be very user friendly and easy to navigate, and at this point would consider purchasing the expanded version of it for my PDA sometime in the future.

I am very impressed with CP Onhand, we have free access to it at this point which is outstanding because the software allows us to check on so many things. It includes standard drug information such as indications, dosages, contraindications, adverse effects, etc. It also includes IV compatability information and the capability to perform drug interaction checks with multiple drugs. This is definitely a software I can see myself using alot in the future.

In addition I have varying amounts of experience with various online drug information resources, including: IDIS, PubMed, Epocrates, Clinical Pharmacology, Micromedex, Lexicomp, StatRef, Access Pharmacy and I'm sure I am leaving several others out. I tend to use Clinical Pharmacology the most because it includes so many different types of information including drug identification. Having checked out the new version of CP I think they have made some significant improvements to the user interface which make it even easier to work with. I would probably rate it as my preferred resource if I were forced to choose one. However, I expect to gain more exposure to some of the others as the semester progresses.

Introducing ourselves

TL: I am a third year pharmacy student and new to the PDA world. I bought a PDA this past summer (an HP Ipaq). So far, I like the PDA well enough. It seems to be pretty user-friendly. I plan to use the PDA mainly to look up drug information during the school year and while on rotations next year. I have loaded a couple programs on it but haven't used them much yet. I am taking a PDA class so that I can learn about programs that are available for use on a PDA.