Drugs and Medications FAQ and Corrections
FAQ
Q: What should I know about the new BETA drug identifier feature
A: The drug identifier feature was a highly requested feature requested by our users. Because photos of all 6000+ drugs would take too much space on the iPhone, we opted to use a 3rd party website to accomplish this goal.
A: To zoom in on the drugs, you need to double tap the screen.
Q: Are there any bugs?
A: Yes: We recently discovered that we didn't catch a bug if you decide to have more than one word if you add markings for the back and front. The temporary fix is to use + vs. a space. For example: If you are looking for the markings "adderall 25mg" you should type "adderall+25mg" This will be fixed in the next release
Q: How do I search for a drug that I don't know how to spell?
A: There are many ways but the easiest way is to search for part of a word.
EXAMPLE: If you are looking for Amitriptyline; you can search for "Amit" or "tyline" or even "trip" and the search function will search within the context of the names
Q: Where does this information come from and is it reliable?!
A: The information comes from trusted sources such as the FDA (Federal Drug Administration)
Q: Why is there a limited number of drugs in the database?
A: Originally, the app was intended only to serve a small population of medical students and pharmacists. As a result, it only had 200 of the most popular drugs. As the app became more popular, it became clear there was a need to increase the drug list. We are updating the drug list slowly since the iphone slows down as you add more data. We are trying to optimize for the most drugs with the fastest bootup time. As of version 1.4; There are now more than 6000 Drugs in the database.
Q: Why are there drug corrections and misspellings
A: We automate the data from the FDA. We also use humans to double check this data. As a result, we have found typos from the drug manufacturers. If you find a typo, please report it so we can report it to the FDA and/or the drug manufacturer.
Q: What is FDA Watch?
A: The FDA regularly releases press releases of safety alerts on drugs. FDA watch is one way accessing the most recent FDA information about a drug. This includes recalls, safety warnings, and other safety alerts.
Q: How do I search by drug classifications
A: Most of the descriptions have drug classifications. As a result, the search feature can search for drug classifications such as the following (but not limited to).
antiarrhythmics
antidepressants
calcium channel blocker
angiotensin receptor blocker
ACE inhibitor
antibiotics
corticosteroids
antipsychotics
barbiturates
DRUG CORRECTIONS
DRUG CORRECTIONS (For version 1.4)
In Version 1.4; we used a new automated process that takes data directly from the FDA label. As a result, the likelihood of errors is extremely small. However, we also check the drugs after the automated process.
As a result, we have discovered typos but are considered minor. We have reported this to the FDA who have reported it to the drug manufacturers. We have commented on these errors in the "Info" section of the drugs that are affected. There are no other known issues with version 1.4. [As of Feb 10,2009]
DRUG CORRECTIONS (For version 1.3)
There are no known errors or problems with version 1.3 [As of December 29,2009]
DRUG CORRECTIONS (For version 1.2)
- ARIPIPRAZOLE (spelled incorrectly in one area as Apripiprazole)
- Chantix description is incorrect. Chantix is to stop smoking.
-
Zyrtec-D The generic label states CETIRIZINE. The FDA label information is correct. Zyrtec and Zyrtec-D both use CETIRIZINE but Zyrtec-D also contains PSEUDOEPHEDRINE.
Note: We are currently going thru the process of checking triple-checking all data