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SBAN 540 Research Project

What is drug information?

Drug information (medication information, or drug informatics) refers to the discovery, use, and management of information regarding the use of medications. Drug information runs the gamut from identification, cost, and pharmacokinetics to dosage and adverse effects.  Information about anatomy, health, or diseases might be needed to better utilize the drug information.

Classification of Information Sources

Drug information sources have been traditionally classified in three different categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary:

PRIMARY SOURCES

Primary literature consists of clinical research studies and reports, both published and unpublished. Not all literature published in a journal is classified as primary literature, for example, review articles or editorials are not primary literature.  

 

SECONDARY SOURCES

Secondary literature refers to references that either index or abstract the primary literature, with the goal of directing the user to relevant primary literature.  

 

TERTIARY SOURCES  

Tertiary sources provide information that has been summarized and distilled by the author or editor to provide a quick easy summary of a topic. Some examples of tertiary resources include textbooks, compendia, review articles in journals, and other general information, such as may be found on the Internet.   

Text attributed to the University of Washington Libraries CC BY-NC 4.0

A more detailed discussion of these categories can be found in the following chapter:

Shields KM, Park SK. Drug Information Resources. In: Malone PM, Malone MJ, Park SK. eds. Drug Information: A Guide for Pharmacists 6e. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2018. http://accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=981&Sectionid=54480666. Accessed August 29, 2019.

 

Examples of source types

Factual, not interpretive, such as:

  • Reports of scientific discoveries
  • Results of experiments
  • Results of clinical trials
  • Original research article published in a scholarly journal containing the following 6 sections:
  1. abstract
  2. introduction
  3. method
  4. results
  5. discussion
  6. references

Primary research might contain charts or graphs, but will not include pictures or advertisements.

  • Interpretations and analyses of primary sources such as research results and scientific discoveries,
  • indexes that direct the user to primary sources.

Trade magazines, dictionaries, handbooks, textbooks, and manuals. The information is usually condensed or summarized. Examples: Merck Manual, Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment.

Questions that can be answered using tertiary sources:

  • What drugs are used to treat ventricular tachycardia?
  • If urinary pH is below 5.5, what might this indicate?
  • Can Letairis cause peripheral edema?
  • Can Ginko Biloba be taken with anticoagulants?

Levels Of Evidence

Paths to Information

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Pharmacy
Harlem Campus 230 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027 (212) 851-1199