1. Compendium of Pharmaceutical Products
http://www.info.gov.hk/pharmser/

Active ingredients of all pharmaceutical products registered and available in Hong Kong are listed at this website. The website is published by the pharmaceutical Service of Department of Health. It can be a very useful website for family physicians to identify what medication a patient may be taking. Health education materials on use of medications are also incorporated at the website which is very useful for patients.

2. British National Formulary
http://www.bnf.org

Highly regarded by doctors and pharmacists in UK, British National Formulary (BNF) is now available online. It is jointly published by the British Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. A searchable drug interactions database is also available at this website.

3. Rxlist
http://www.rxlist.com

This is a free, searchable, database of drug products on the web. The search engine employs 'fuzzy' logic which enables search with partial or misspelt name. The output gives detail of the drug including clinical pharmacology, dosage and indications, side effects and drug interactions, warning and precautions, and contraindications.

4. DrKoop.com
http://www.drugs.com/data/channel/md/drkoop.cfm

This website has a user-friendly search engine for drug information. One can also search for drug interactions, identify pills and find drug images with the image database. Search engine allows partial name search. The drug interaction database allows users to check on drug interactions between two or more drugs with any list of medicines, for possible drug-drug and drug-food interactions

5. FDA/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/default.htm

The mission of Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) of FDA is to assure that safe and effective drugs are available to consumers. The website tells how CDER relates to new drug development and review, generic drug reviews and post drug approval processes.

6. About.com: Herb/Drug Interaction
http://herbsforhealth.about.com/cs/herbinteractions/ index.htm

A pioneer site exploring this important issue of Herb/Drug Interaction which is going to affect our everyday practice. The website has a lot of links covering Herb/Drug Interactions. Although the herbs covered may not be the TCM herbs that we encounter, it serves a good starting point for family physicians who wish to know more about the issue.

7. nteliHealth: Drug Resource Centre
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8124/8124.html?k=menux408x8124

The Drug Resource Centre of InteliHealth provides drug information from sources including Harvard Medical School and University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. The information provided by the website includes drug index, drug interactions, check the basics and safety.

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Please note that this and previous editions of "What' s in the Web for Family Physicians" are now on the links page of the Web site. All suggested sites are connected by hyperlinks and can be reached by a click of the mouse.