Why Use A Medical Drug Reference?
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A medical drug reference tool is likely available for your mobile phone -- whether you use an iPhone, Sprint Evo, Android or one of many other smartphones available. These applications are very important and useful in avoiding medication errors, but do not – and should never – replace the advice of a medical professional.
Providers Must Consider Using an Accessible and Efficient Rx Drug Reference
When choosing a prescription drug regime for patients, it may be critical that providers use an Rx drug reference. The oldest form of this reference type is the Physicians’ Desk Reference, also known as the PDR. However, healthcare providers tend to avoid those references that can’t be referenced. After all, time is important to all healthcare providers, and more time spent with one patient is less time to be spent with another. According to Jeffrey Rothschild, MD, Division of General Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “One of the most common causes of serious medication errors is a failure to access basic clinical drug knowledge prior to prescribing.”
A 2005 survey of 850 providers, carried out by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, showed that use of online references, such as ePocrates qRX, helped to avoid over two million prescription drug errors. Over 90% of the providers participating in the survey revealed that it took them less than 20 seconds to find the necessary medication information online. This is important because providers are faced with new drugs daily and, as such, an ever-expanding world pharmacy with drug interactions and contra-indications must be considered. 80% of ePocrates qRx users reported improved drug knowledge and better information about prescription drugs from their medical drug reference.
