Evaluating Online Drug Databases for Infectious Disease Treatment
Author Information
Author(s): Polen Hyla H, Zapantis Antonia, Clauson Kevin A, Jebrock Jennifer, Paris Mark
Primary Institution: Nova Southeastern University, College of Pharmacy
Hypothesis
Do online drug information databases provide adequate support for clinical decision-making in infectious disease therapies?
Conclusion
Online drug information databases can be valuable resources for infectious disease practitioners, but there is room for improvement in their accuracy and completeness.
Supporting Evidence
- The top performing databases were Micromedex, Medscape Drug Reference, and Lexi-Comp with AHFS.
- Subscription databases outperformed free databases in all categories.
- The overall error rate across databases was 1.8%, with some databases providing no erroneous answers.
Takeaway
This study looked at different online drug databases to see how well they help doctors make decisions about treating infections. Some databases did a great job, but others need to get better.
Methodology
The study evaluated 14 online drug information databases for their ability to answer 147 infectious disease-specific questions, assessing their scope and completeness.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the selection of databases and the specific questions chosen for evaluation.
Limitations
The study evaluated a limited set of questions and captured data at a single point in time, which may not reflect updates in the databases.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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