CD ROMs for Pharmaceutical use Patrick Bongo BSc (Hons), MSc, PGCE, MBCS

INTRODUCTION Pharmacy CD-ROMs are used as electronic reference by Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Doctors, Nurses and Toxicologists. They could be used instead of their respective paper based manuals, depending on the technology available, the time and place they need to be accessed.

Commonly used CD-ROMs BNF (British National Formulary) Contains advice of clinical experts and provides up-to-date guidance on prescribing, dispensing and administering Medicines. It details medicines prescribed in the UK, with special reference to their uses, cautions, contra- indications, side-effects, dosage and relative costs. The BNF could be accessed as a paper based manual or online or as a CD-ROM.

BNFC (BNF for Children) The BNFC provides essential practical information to all healthcare professionals involved in the prescribing, dispensing, monitoring, and administration of medicines to children. It includes authoritative advice on licensed as well as unlicensed and “off-label” use of medicines for children from birth up to the age of 18 years. Like the BNF you can access it via a paper based manual or online or as a CD-ROM.

Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference Encyclopaedic facts about drugs and medicines Over 6,300 drug monographs 149,000 preparations 40,700 references 14,700 manufacturers Synopses of treatments for more than 660 diseases Enables identification of medicines, the local equivalent and the manufacturer Includes herbals, diagnostic agents, radiopharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical excipients, toxins, and poisons as well as drugs and medicines Based on published information and extensively referenced

Pharmaceutical Excipients This is a comprehensive guide to the uses, properties and safety of pharmaceutical excipients and is an essential reference for those involved in the development, production, control and regulation of pharmaceutical preparations.

Clarke's Analysis of Drugs and Poisons This is intended for use primarily by scientists faced with identifying and quantifying drugs and poisons in body fluids, tissue samples and pharmaceutical and industrial products.

Dietary Supplements The Dietary Supplements provides a comprehensive, evidence-based guide to the safety and efficacy of the most commonly used vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements.

Stockley's Drug Interactions provides the healthcare professional with quick and easy access to clinically relevant, evaluated, and evidence-based information on interactions between therapeutic drugs, proprietary medicines, herbal medicines, foods, drinks, pesticides and drugs of abuse.

BNF DEMONSTRATION If you enter the search criteria “ampicillin” and then you click on the Search icon

You now have a list of drugs associated with Ampicillin

If you had selected Ampicillin from the previous menu

If you click on Interactions

Output if you had clicked on Interactions

Martindale Demonstration If for example you write “Ibuprofen” and click on the Search icon.

If you had selected Ibuprofen from the previous selection.

You then have information on adverse effects, treatment and precautions

If you click on Interactions

References British Medical Association et al (2006). BNF for Children (BNFC) [Online]. Available at: Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (2006). BNF [Online]. Available: Moffat, Anthony et al (2006). The definitive source of analytical data for drugs and poisons. [Online]. Available at: Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (2006). Martindale: The complete drug reference. [Online]. Available at: Rowe, Raymond et al (2006). Pharmaceutical Excipients. [Online]. Available at: Baxter, Karen et al (2006). Stockley's Drug Interactions. [Online]. Available at: Mason, Pamela (2006). Dietary Supplements. [Online]. Available at: