What is it?
An online search system designed to answer questions about patient care, MICROMEDEX link removed offers referential databases and integrated decision support tools covering drug, disease, patient education, toxicology, alternative medicine, regulatory, and chemical information.

Who should use it?
Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals will find evidence-based data to support clinical decision-making in a number of different medical areas. With over 400 practicing clinicians from all over the world serving as editorial board members, authoritative information is assured. Additionally, MICROMEDEX link removed provides customizable patient education information for drugs and diseases.

What does it do?
All of the features of the MICROMEDEX Health Care series are accessible from the main screen:
Use the Integrated Index to find quick answers on topics such as:

¤ Alternative Medicine Therapies	¤ Reproductive Risk Data
¤ Drugs	¤ Toxicological Managements
¤ Emergency Medicine and Acute Care Protocols

Simply enter your term or terms into the search box to obtain summaries or detailed monograph information for drugs, acute/emergency care, toxicology, and reproductive risk. The Integrated Index also offers searching by category or particular database or databases. (See MICROMEDEX search hints.)

Find drugs and substances, identify solid dosage forms based on imprint code, and access product ingredient information by searching the Toxicology and Trade/generic drug databases. The Toxicology databases POISINDEX® and IDENTIDEX® offer product ingredients and imprint codes, while the Trade/generic DRUGDEX® & MARTINDALE databases link directly to drug monographs. It also includes drugs marketed both in the US and internationally.

Use a tool to check for drug interactions or look up a dosing calculator, therapeutic pearl or nomogram. The DRUG-REAX System, under Drug Interactions, allows clinicians to check for interacting drug ingredients, their effects, and their clinical significance, providing drug-drug, food-drug, drug-disease, drug-ethanol, and drug-laboratory assay interactions. Dosing Tools assist the clinician with patient care. Included are Adult and Pediatric Emergency Drug Dosing Calculators, Toxicity Nomograms, Therapeutic Pearls, and frequently used calculators, such as Body Surface Area and Creatinine Clearance.

Note that not all additive adverse effects or therapeutic antagonist effects are included in the DRUG-REAX System.

Access patient education via the CareNotes System or AltMed Leaflets. The CareNotes System assists healthcare professionals in providing patients with easy-to-understand information in English and Spanish, including treatment, follow-up care, psychosocial issues, and continuing health concerns. It also contains DrugNotes: easy-to-understand instructions on medications. AltMed Leaflets are gleaned from the AltCareDex database, providing concise information on herbals, vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements, as well as common CAM therapies and information on the treatment of common health conditions using complementary and alternative methods.

View P & T Quik® Reports. P & T Quik Monthly Reports provide fast, reliable answers for Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committees. Access reports describing formulary recommendations, approved indications, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, adverse effects, and more, in an easily printable PDF format. It is especially useful when reviewing or presenting new drugs under consideration for inclusion in hospital formularies.

Where can I get it?
MICROMEDEX link removed is available from the Library Homepage link removed both on and off campus with an LSUHSC User ID and Password, or just stop by the library for a demonstration.

-- Maureen Knapp
mknapp@lsuhsc.edu link removed