Consumer Health: Drugs/Medicines

Drugs.com's Pill Identifier allows users to search for a drug by shape, color, and imprint, with a database of images that help identify unlabeled medication.

Pillbox enables rapid identification of unknown solid-dosage medications (tablets/capsules) based on physical characteristics and high-resolution images and provides links to drug information and FDA-approved drug labels.

Learn about your prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Includes side effects, dosage, special precautions, and more. Browse dietary supplements and herbal remedies to learn about their effectiveness, usual dosage, and drug interactions.

DailyMed provides reliable information about marketed drugs. It offers the FDA-approved labels (package inserts) as well as the chemical formulas, composition, and physical description of the drug.

The FDA oversees the regulation of pharmaceutical and food products and medical devices. The site has both professional and consumer information on topics such as specific drugs, taking medications safely, buying generic drugs, and saving money on prescriptions. It includes a guide to buying drugs safely online, information about recalls and product safety, and drug-drug, and drug-food interactions.

The NLM Drug Portal offers a comprehensive database of prescription and non-prescription drugs, including vitamins and supplements. Users may search by generic or brand name and obtain information from the NLM databases, the FDA, the DEA, and other government sources.

This site lists newly approved drugs, drugs in current clinical research and weekly trial results..

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

This site from the Physician's Desk Reference includes information for health consumers about prescription and non-prescription drugs, herbal medicines, and supplements.

A clearinghouse for information about the various assistance programs available from pharmaceutical manufacturers for patients who cannot afford medications. It also has information about government assistance programs and coupons.

From WebMD, this site includes information about prescription and non-prescription drugs, herbs, and supplements, searchable by generic and brand name. It also has a pill identifier tool.

The Clinicalinfo Drug Database provides information on HIV-related drugs, including FDA-approved antiretroviral and opportunistic infection drugs and investigational drugs. From the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

From Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, this site provides an index to evidence-based information about herbs, botanicals, supplements, and other medicines. The information is at the professional level from articles in clinical medical journals.

In-depth monographs about herbal products and supplements written by health professionals and students. It provides clinical information summaries, patient fact sheets, and information about toxicity and interactions as well as relevant links. The task force is a cooperative effort of the staff and students from Children’s Hospital, the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.