This portal (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DrugHerbIndex) provides information about drugs, supplements, and over-the-counter medications including herbs and vitamins. The mission of Mayo is “to empower people to manage their health.” Medical editors are listed on the site with corresponding credentials clearly indicated. A web-enabled contact form is provided for inquiries. Searching is via an A-Z list of medications or a general search box (no advanced search). The site allows users to search all content, or specific drugs and supplements. Misspellings are not accounted for. Herbs and supplements are listed alphabetically as hyperlinks. Drug information is provided by Micromedex, including brand name, basic indication information, dosage forms, external links for associated conditions, pediatric and geriatric recommendations, pregnancy and breast-feeding limitations, drug interactions (noninteractive for users), other medical problems, dosing, administration, storage, precautions, and side effects.
A print option is available for monographs, and dates of last update are relatively current. No pill identification feature is offered, and the newest drug monographs may be unavailable. Some advertising on individual pages is present. Navigation is simple, page-loading speed is sufficient, and being able to jump to individual monograph sections eases discovery. Of note, the search box within monograph sections is a total site search, not a search within the drug information portal. Individual pages provide plus and minus signs to increase or decrease text size. Compared to other drug information resources, the scope is narrow. Drawing on Micromedex for portions of its content, this resource is useful for focused searching of basic drug information.
Recommended for consumers (including undergraduate students) requiring basic, high-quality drug information on topics such as medication use and adverse effects.