Medication Information: Home
Introduction to this Guide
This guide covers:
- Medications: resources for identifying and investigating the effectiveness of medications.
- Dietary Supplements: resources regarding dietary supplements, their regulation, and evaluation of their claims.
- Consumer Safety: resources for avoiding health fraud and safely shopping for medications online.
About this Topic
Finding reliable information about medications and dietary supplements can be difficult. This guide collects authoritative sources of information about medications, dietary supplements, and consumer safety.
The resources collected in this guide are for informational purposes only and should not take the place of medical advice. Consult with your healthcare provider before taking any action related to your health.
Resources for Mobile Users
WebMD Mobile Apps
WebMD offers a range of free health-related apps. The general WebMD Mobile App contains medication information and is available for iOS and Android devices. The Medscape Mobile App is clinician-oriented and is available for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire devices.
Epocrates
Epocrates Rx is a free, clinician-oriented mobile app specifically for medication information. It is available for iOS and Android devices. However, as this New York Times article details, it is heavily laden with paid pharmaceutical advertising.
Regulation of Mobile Medical Apps
As with any medical information source, practice caution when consuming information from mobile medical apps and do not act on any information without the advice of a physician. The FDA's page on Mobile Medical Applications provides specific information on how mobile medical apps are (and are not) subject to regulation.
These sites are versions of resources listed elsewhere in this guide, optimized for display on mobile devices.
Both resources are provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.