Abstract
The landscape of drug information is growing, leading to information overload from various avenues, both scientific and public opinion. The completeness of these resources are not well-studied and no standardizations exist for these databases. Thus, it is not uncommon to have missing information across the drug information resources used by healthcare professionals. Such gaps in these resources may lead to fatal and nonfatal incidences if more than one resource is not consulted. To date, there have been numerous medication errors reported in the literature. In an effort to review the data found in drug information resources, we conducted a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Embase, and EBSCO electronic databases from January 2000 to January 2017, using the terms “drug information,” “medical information,” and “drug information resource.” A total of 14 articles were identified and five were included in our review, which evaluated the differences between drug information resources. Two articles evaluated pharmacogenomics information, one was infectious disease-specific, one evaluated usability as well as other factors, and the last evaluated general content. Overall, there was consistency across the articles in that they each reported on disparities in drug information among several drug information resources. Drug information keeps changing, and it is imperative that healthcare professionals have access to multiple resources to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information. We strongly encourage the standardization of drug information content on drug information resources as well as the information made available from pharmaceutical companies, as it may refine the quality of drug information provided to help prevent medication errors and adverse drug events.
Highlights
BackgroundDrug information requires thorough evaluation when seeking patient-specific or patient population information
The frontline pharmacist and drug information centers are sometimes utilized in addition to electronic drug information resources
The drug summaries were evaluated for any information that was inaccurate, incomplete, or omitted when compared to the full prescribing information, instructions for use, and/or medication guide
Summary
BackgroundDrug information requires thorough evaluation when seeking patient-specific or patient population information. No single electronic drug information resource is all-encompassing, leading to incomplete or inconsistent drug information. An absence of information may lead to an unintended medication error or adverse event. Adverse drug events are injuries caused by medications and are further classified as medication errors if preventable. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported an incidence of approximately 98,000 annual deaths due to medication errors in 1999, which is an underrepresentation of the degree of the problem [4]. Are medication errors the most common errors made, but they are reported to be the third-leading cause of death in the United States (US) [9,10]. Medication labeling is one resource utilized to acquire drug information. Prior to 2006, a medication package insert provided an exorbitant amount of information, resulting in confusion and physician fatigue in searching for answers
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