Evaluation of Point-of-Care Resources for Dietary Supplement Information

OBJECTIVE. To evaluate 6 tertiary, point-of-care drug information resources’ dietary supplement content. METHODS. This was a cross-sectional evaluation of Lexicomp Natural Products Database, Micromedex Alternative Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology, Natural Medicines, The Review of Natural Products, and Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs. Each resource was evaluated for scope, completeness, consistency, and ease of use. RESULTS. For a sample of 66 supplements, scope scores ranged from 69.7% (Micromedex) to 100% (Natural Medicines). Completeness scores were high considering uses, dose, adverse effects, and mechanism (85.7% to 100%). Overall completeness scores ranged from 82.5% (Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs) to 100% (Clinical Pharmacology, Natural Medicines, The Review of Natural Products). Consistency scores ranged from 0% (Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs) to 100% (Natural Medicines, The Review of Natural Products). Mean time to locate and gather information was similar among groups. CONCLUSIONS. Resources were similar for completeness and ease of use. Scope and consistency varied depending on the resource.