Evaluation of Personal Digital Assistant Drug Information Databases for the Managed Care Pharmacist

BACKGROUND: Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are becoming a necessity for practicing pharmacists. They offer a time-saving and convenient way to obtain current drug information. Several software companies now offer general drug information databases for use on handheld computers. PDAs priced less than $200 often have limited memory capacity; therefore, the user must choose from a growing list of general drug information database options in order to maximize utility without exceeding memory capacity. OBJECTIVES: This paper reviews the attributes of available general drug information software databases for the PDA. It provides information on the content, advantages, limitations, pricing, memory requirements, and accessibility of drug information software databases. SUMMARY: Ten drug information databases were subjectively analyzed and evaluated based on information from the products Web site, vendor Web sites, and from our experience. Some of these databases have attractive auxiliary features such as kinetics calculators, disease references, drug-drug and drug-herb interaction tools, and clinical guidelines, which may make them more useful to the PDA user. CONCLUSIONS: Not all drug information databases are equal with regard to content, author credentials, frequency of updates, and memory requirements. The user must therefore evaluate databases for completeness, currency, and cost effectiveness before purchase. In addition, consideration should be given to the ease of use and flexibility of individual programs.