With great arrays of new drugs being introduced in the market at such a phase, many a medical and paramedical personnel have some difficulty or the other in keeping abreast of newer information. Information regarding the mechanisms of actions, drug interactions and adverse drug reactions are highly sought by these information seekers at a very fast rate. At the juncture of urgent need one can't be searching for resources of drug information, which might end futile. Therefore it is necessary to have a good drug information cell with authentic sources to supply the necessary details about drugs and optimal therapy.
Keeping this in view we established a Drug Information Cell called "Periyar Drug Information Center" equipped with computers and compendia to access the data for the needs of optimal therapy at KMC. Speciality Medical Centre and Hospital. The center is of great use to physicians, paramedical staff including staff nurses and pharmacists and patients themselves. We are in the process of setting up collaborative research works with our MoU hospitals through this cell. As an achievement of this cell, we have a quarterly publication "PDIC Newsletter" started in 2004 that carries current information of importance about drugs and therapy which is being circulated among various pharmacy and medical institutions, universities and other statutory bodies throughout India.
The IDIS database, from the University of Iowa, USA in the cell contains indexed bibliography, including abstracts and full text articles related to drugs and therapy in humans from over 200 leading medical and pharmaceutical international journals. The system is designed to provide immediate access to specific information concerning a drug and/or treatment of a disease state. Authoritative publications have been selected to provide broad coverage of both general and specialty areas of pharmacy and medicine.
Also Micromedex – Drugdex system from the United States of America in available for the post-graduate scholars for latest drug informations. This expensive software has been procured under the MODROBS scheme of the AICTE, New Delhi.
