Last week, the National Library of Medicine announced a new online resource for researchers, healthcare professionals, and the general public, called the NLM Drug Information Portal. Like other “federated” search tools, the idea is a one-stop, simple search interface that pulls together results from a wide variety of disparate databases. In this case, the user is presented with a single search box to enter the name of the drug (generic or commercial) — but the results are returned from a wide variety of federal government sources, including:
- MedlinePlus (Drug information & consumer health information)
- AIDSinfo (HIV/AIDS treatment)
- LactMed (Effect on breastfeeding)
- HSDB (Reviewed biological and physical data)
- Dietary Supplements Labels Database (Ingredients and label information)
- Medline/PubMed (References from scientific journals)
- TOXLINE (References from toxicological journals)
- DailyMed (Manufacturers drug label)
- ClinicalTrials.gov (Clinical trials)
- PubChem (Biological activities and chemical structures)
- NIAID ChemDB (Biological activities against HIV/AIDS and other viruses)
- ChemIDplus (Toxicological and chemical resources)
- Drugs@FDA (Information from the US Food & Drug Administration)
- DEA (Information from the US Drug Enforcement Administration)
- USA.gov (Other government resources)
Now, that’s a fine collection of resources to be able to search all at once! Thanks, NLM — and thanks to our colleagues over at the EBM & Clinical Support Blog for the tip about the new site.
