R_x: Finding Drug Information

Welcome to “R_x: Finding Drug Information”

Objectives

This tutorial is designed to:

• Provide background information about selected web-based drug information resources that can be used to answer questions you might have about drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter as well as dietary supplements and herbals
• Give you opportunities to use these resources in the context of specific settings so that you become familiar with the informational strengths and weaknesses of individual resources
• Assist you in thinking about how to create effective strategies for seeking information about drugs

Assumptions About You

This tutorial is not meant to instruct you on the step by step usage of the resources included. It is assumed that you have had some experience with searching the Internet as well as bibliographic and other databases. You will have an opportunity within this tutorial to try out the resources in the “Practice” section or from the “Resources by Topic” table. The following web site can be used for self-instruction in navigating the Web and evaluating web sites:

“Navigating the Web: Using Search Tools and Evaluating Resources”
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/howto/navigating/

It is also assumed that you are familiar with deciding what information you need to find to help you in your clinical decision making. Here are some sites that you may refer to for more information on how to do this:

How To Proceed

Select your starting point from the table of contents at left. If you are unfamiliar with finding drug information, we recommend starting with the “Drug Resources” section, trying out your knowledge in the “Practice” section, and continuing until you reach the end of the “Summary” section.