Research guides: Pharmacy : Drug Info

Drug Information Databases

MAPflow (student version)
A clinical decision-making support tool designed for minor ailment assessment and prescribing. It enhances knowledge and skills, thereby facilitating service delivery. It is exclusively available to students and lab instructors, and funding has been generously provided by Searchlight. If you have any feedback on MAPflow, please complete the following form. The use of MAPflow (student version) is for educational purposes only and when pharmacist services are conducted in practice, they have to be under a licensed pharmacist with an active, regular, MAPflow account.

CPS
Access the CPS, CTC, CTMA, CPMA, drug interactions via Lexi-Interact, and patient information. Produced by the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA).

Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

Health Canada - Drug Product Database (DPD)
Product specific information on drugs approved for use in Canada. Includes human pharmaceutical and biological drugs, veterinary drugs, and disinfectant products, and ~15,000 products which companies have notified Health Canada as being marketed.
RxVigilance
Comprehensive information on all drugs sold in Canada; medication monographs; patient handouts, calculate pediatric doses; compounding formulas; medication pictograms; and much more.
RxPhotos
Medication identification tool; database of 50,000 photos of medications. Search by DIN, appearance, or active ingredient.

Lexidrug (formerly Lexicomp)
Interactions, drug identification, intravenous compatibility, patient education, toxicology, and calculators. Includes access to AHFS Drug Information (DI) and AHFS Essentials (good consultation talking points!).

Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources
Micromedex
Evidence based information on drugs, uses, identification, toxicology, diseases, acute care, drug interactions, and alternative medicine. CareNotes contain monographs about care and medications at a consumer level in several languages. *Must contact Pharmacy Librarian for username and password (c8carter@uwaterloo.ca).* Works best in Chrome or Microsoft Edge browsers.

Includes CareNotes which are monographs written at a consumer level on the care and medications for medical conditions.
Note: Access Access is restricted to faculty, students and staff currently enrolled in the Pharmacy program at the University of Waterloo. Contact the Pharmacy Librarian for access information.
Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources
UpToDate
An evidence-based point of care tool covering more than 9,500 topics in 21 specialties, and providing access to patient education, medical calculators, and over 5,200 drug monographs.

Note: You will be asked to authenticate yourself as a member of the University of Waterloo community using your last name and barcode.
Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
Clinical reference on treatment of infectious diseases and anti-infective drug information.
LiverTox
Provides regularly updated, unbiased and easily accessed information on the diagnosis, cause, frequency, clinical patterns and management of liver injury attributable to prescription and nonprescription medications and selected herbal and dietary supplements. The LiverTox site is meant as a resource for both physicians and patients as well as for clinical academicians and researchers who specialize in idiosyncratic drug induced hepatotoxicity.

Access Pharmacy
Pharmacotherapeutic textbooks, drug monographs, patient handouts, videos, study flashcards, NAPLEX review.

AccessPharmacy allows students to select a core curriculum topic, browse by organ system, review textbooks, or search across leading pharmacy online references. Tools include calculators, lab test information, and an integrated drug database.

Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

Pharmacist's Letter Canada
Includes a monthly letter providing concise, evidence-based updates on new medications and treatment recommendations, as well as patient education handouts and charts. *Funding generously provided by WatSEF. *Student access only*
Center for Effective Practice
Evidence-based clinical practice algorithms, drug comparison charts, patient handouts, and community resources designed for health care providers in Ontario.

USP - NF
Pharmacopeial standards for medicines, dosage forms, drug substances, excipients, medical devices, and dietary supplements. Standards on good compounding practices; monographs for compounded preparations for both human and veterinary use.

The United States Pharmacopeia and The National Formulary (USPâ€“NF) is a combination of two compendia: the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and the National Formulary (NF). It is a book of public pharmacopeial standards for chemical and biological drug substances, dosage forms, compounded preparations, excipients, medical devices, and dietary supplements. Monographs for drug substances, dosage forms, and compounded preparations are featured in the USP, monographs for dietary supplements and ingredients appear in a separate section of the USP, and excipient monographs are in the NF. The U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act designates the USPâ€“NF as official compendia for drugs marketed in the United States.
Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

MedlinePlus Drugs
Learn about prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Includes side effects, dosage, special precautions, and more. Targets non-professionals.

Statista
Provides over 1 million statistics, data, and facts from over 600 industries and 50+ countries.
Coverage:Varies

Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

NatMed
Evidence-based information on complementary and alternative therapies. Includes foods/herbs/supplements monographs, comparative effectiveness charts, various checkers (interactions, nutrient depletion, effectiveness, etc.)
*Student/Faculty/Staff access only*

Natural Medicines, founded by clinicians and researchers, is the most authoritative resource available on dietary supplements, natural medicines, and complementary, alternative, and integrative therapies.
Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

Health Canada - Licensed Natural Health Products Database
Explores natural health products that have been issued a product licence by Health Canada. This means that Health Canada has assessed these products and has idenfitifed them as safe, effective and of high quality under their recommended conditions of use. Licensed natural health products have an eight digit Natural Product Number (NPN) or Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Part of the National Institutes of Health, and is the U.S. Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. Provides an alphabetical listing of health topics and herbs.
About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)
For the general public and healthcare practitioners; provides evidence-based information on various herbs and supplements.
MedlinePlus Herbs and Supplements
Browse dietary supplements and herbal remedies to learn about their effectiveness, usual dosage, and drug interactions. Targets non-professionals.
Drugs and Supplements (Mayo Clinic)
Overviews of vitamins, herbs, supplements and their evidence, safety, and interactions.

RxVigilance
Comprehensive information on all drugs sold in Canada; medication monographs; patient handouts; calculate pediatric doses; compounding formulas; medication pictograms; drug comparison charts, and much more.

Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

Art, Science, and Technology of Pharmaceutical Compounding
Ebook on the purpose and process of compounding; facilities, equipment and supplies; compounding with hazardous drugs; calculations; flavors, sweeteners and colours; preservation, sterilization; capsules; gels; suspensions; emulsions, and much more!
Compounding Sterile Preparations (2018)
Ebook on standards for compounded sterile preparation, immediate-use compounding, parenteral nutrition compounding, pediatric compounding considerations, equipment and supplies, aseptic technique, hazardous drugs, storage and beyond-use dating, labeling, documentation, microbiological issues, pharmacist and pharmacy technician education, secondary engineering controls, technology, latex allergies, outsourcing, etc.
A Practical Guide to Contemporary Pharmacy Practice and Compounding (4th edition, 2018)
*Print book in Pharmacy Library, call #RS98 .T47 2018. * This book contains information on processing the prescription, calculations, compounding drug preparations, pharmaceutical excipients, nonsterile dosage forms and their preparation, sterile dosage forms and their preparation, veterinary pharmacy, and compatibility and stability.
PharmLabs - The Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Compounding Laboratory
The University of North Carolina - Eshelman School of Pharmacy has compiled this website of laboratory exercises, instructional videos, formulations, and study questions related to compounding.
Compounding Recipes Index (The Hospital for Sick Children Compounding Service)
The most common suspensions made by SickKids' pharmacy
Formulations for Compounds (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario)
Provides information on the formulation of the indicated non-sterile compounds (see website for a listing).
IWK Compounding Formulas
An alphabetical listing (by generic name) of the most common non-sterile compounds prepared by the IWK Pharmacy.

The Merck Index
Data on chemicals, drugs (human and veterinary), and biologicals. Search by drawing a chemical structure as well.

Reaxys
Authoritative information in organic, inorganic and organometallic chemistry.

Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources
SciFinder-n
Provides chemical information including physical and chemical properties, reactions, and patents.

Note: Access is restricted to current faculty, students and staff of the University. Account registration must be done using your Waterloo email address.
Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

Handbook of Pharmaceutical Excipients
Information on excipients and their physical properties, used in pharmaceutical formulation.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Organic and inorganic compounds, analytical chemistry, ,molecular structure and spectroscopy, nuclear and particle physics, polymer properties, etc.

NAPRA Drug Schedules
Ontario Public Drug Program Formulary
The Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program is one of the most generous drug benefit programs in Canada, providing coverage for over 4,300 drug products, including nutrition products and diabetic testing agents. Drugs that are not listed in the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary/Comparative Drug Index (Formulary) are also considered for coverage through the Ministry's Exceptional Access program on a case-by-case basis.
Health Canada Legislation & Guidelines
Health Canada Controlled Drugs & Substances Act

Health Canada Advisories, Warnings and Recalls
Database of recalls, advisories, and safety alerts from Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Transport Canada.
MedEffect Canada & the Health Product InfoWatch Newsletter (formerly: Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter)
Provides factual information on serious or unexpected side effects or adverse reactions suspected of being associated with health products, such as prescription and non-prescription medications, natural health products, biologically derived products, and medical devices.
Health Canada Adverse Reaction Database
Contains information about suspected adverse reactions (also known as side effects) to health products. Adverse reaction reports are submitted by: consumers and health professionals, who submit reports voluntarily; and manufacturers and distributors.
Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada
One of the goals of ISMP is to collect, collate and analyze actual and potential medication errors reported by practitioners. From this, recommendations and strategies for reducing medication errors can be disseminated to others. This is a non-punitive and voluntary reporting – no identifying information is collected and the information is kept confidential.
Canadian Drug Shortage Database
A continuously-updated website for reporting drug shortages and discontinuations in Canada.

Briggs Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation (via Lexicomp)
Provides information on a medication's effects on the fetus during pregnancy and on the breast-feeding infant. Each monograph contains pregnancy and breastfeeding summaries and recommendations.
Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed)
Peer-reviewed and fully referenced database of drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. Provides data on maternal and infant levels of drugs, possible effects, and alternative therapies.
Hale's Medications & Mothers' Milk: A Manual of Lactational Pharmacology (20th edition, 2023)
E-book containing evidence-based information available on the transmission of maternal drugs into human milk. *1 user at a time*
MotherToBaby
Evidence-based info for consumers and healthcare professionals about medication use during pregnancy. Recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MotherToBaby is run by the non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS).
Drugs Contraindicated for Breastfeeding Mothers (Merck Manual)
Examples of some drugs contraindicated in breastfeeding, and general concerns and specific effects in infants.
Schaefer's Drugs During Pregnancy and Lactation: Treatment Options and Risk Assessment (3rd edition, 2015)
Each chapter in this Ebook contains information regarding drugs that are appropriate for prescription during pregnancy and an assessment of the risk of a drug when exposure during pregnancy has already occurred. *1 user at a time*

Books (Print and Electronic)

Plumb's veterinary drug handbook (2023, 10th edition, 1 copy in the Pharmacy Library, PHR 0013)
Covers monitoring, chemistry, storage, compounding, and dosages. Designed for ease of use, the book surveys an exhaustive list of drugs with applications for a wide variety of species, including dogs, cats, exotic animals, and farm animals.
Papich Handbook of Veterinary Drugs (5th edition, 2021)
Ebook of 550 drug monographs containing information on pharmacology, indications, adverse reactions, instructions for use, patient monitoring and lab tests, stability and storage, and dosing for small and large animals.
Saunders handbook of veterinary drugs : small and large animal (4th edition, 2016)
Ebook of drug monographs containing information on pharmacology, indications, adverse reactions, instructions for use, patient monitoring and lab tests, stability and storage, and dosing for small and large animals.
Pharmacotherapeutics for Veterinary Dispensing (2019)
Ebook offering practical advice on dispensing drugs for dogs and cats, with additional chapters on horses, birds, reptiles, small mammals, and food animals. Helps pharmacists avoid adverse drug reactions including pharmacogenomic and breed-related drug sensitivities Offers an authoritative resource written by leading veterinary pharmacy experts designed to integrate pharmacists into the veterinary healthcare team. Includes crucial regulatory information unique to veterinary drug dispensing and compounding.
Drug therapy for infectious diseases of the dog and cat (2015)
Ebook on treating infectious disease in dogs and cats; ideally suited for use in clinic. Drug monographs covering drug names, uses, availability, dosing, adverse reactions, interactions and more. Information on antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics, and antivirals.
Equine Pharmacology (2014)
Ebook on drug options for various diseases; leads the reader through the clinical decision making process.
Zoo and Wild Mammal Formulary (2019)
Ebook providing fast access to authoritative dosing information for drugs used in more than 35 zoo and wild mammal groups, including marsupials, bears, and elephants. Taking an easy-to-use tabular format, the book is organized by taxa, with drug doses sorted by type and alphabetically arranged in every chapter. Clear and comprehensive, the book offers dosages for all important drugs, including antibiotics, antifungals, anesthetics, analgesics, and more.
Nutraceuticals in Veterinary Medicine (2019)
Ebook of common dietary supplements/nutraceuticals; ingredients; use in prevention and treatment of various diseases; safety; toxicity, and more.
Veterinary Psychopharmacology (2019)
Ebook on the use of drugs for veterinary mental health care and behavior modification.
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics for Veterinary Technicians (2017)
Print book covering how drugs work so you can confidently communicate with clients about current drug therapies. Featuring up-to-date drug information and a new full-color design with added illustrations, tables, and boxes, this thorough resource covers drug uses, abuses, calculation errors, and mistakes. *Sign-in with your WatIAM in order to request a copy to be mailed to you free of charge.*

Websites/Databases

Health Canada - Drug Product Database
Veterinary drugs approved in Canada and their monographs; search by product name or active ingredient.
FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine
Adverse drug reactions, information for consumers.
Veterinary Partner
Online resource for practitioners and students – dogs, cats, horses, birds, reptiles, small mammals, pigs, ruminants, and medications.
Drugs.com: Veterinary Product Database
5,000+ product monographs from over 90 manufacturers
The Merck Veterinary Manual
1000's of topics in the veterinary medicine field, including pharmacology. Monographs, quizzes, photos and videos.

CABI Digital Library
Subject coverage: agricultural, animal and environmental sciences; food safety; ecoterrorism; climate change; ecotourism; pharmacology; physiology; toxicology; occupational health; gerontology; and policy recommendations.
Coverage: 1900s - present

Appropriate use guidelines for electronic resources

Journals

Travax
Travax provides continuously-updated data on international in-country health threats, risks, counter-measures, and resources. *Access is limited to School of Pharmacy faculty, staff and students via WatIAM.*

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