NLM ADDS EXTENSIVE DRUG INFO TO MEDLINEplus - Government Activity - Brief Article

Online Newsletter, June, 2000

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has enhanced its consumer health Web site MEDLINEplus (http://medlineplus.gov) with extensive information on more than 9,000 brand name and generic prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Information about each drug includes side effects, dosing, drug interactions, precautions, and storage. Because the articles are intended for the use of patients, they are written in non-technical language.

Information provided in MEDLINEplus is through a special arrangement with the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). MEDLINEplus now makes available the USP's Drug Information (USP D1), Volume II, "Advice for the Patient" (now in its 20th edition).

MEDLINEplus links to authoritative information on nearly 400 health topics, and, though only 18 months old, this Web site is used by consumers and health professionals some 1.3 million times each month. MEDLINEplus also connects users to medical dictionaries, lists of doctors and hospitals, and "Health Topics" pages that have links to carefully selected resources on subjects such as diseases, fitness, and nutrition. In April, MEDLINEplus added the adam.com Medical Encyclopedia, which contains articles on health topics as well as an extensive collection of medical illustrations.

The MEDLINEplus Web site requires no registration and users are assured of complete privacy.