Research Guides: Pharmacy Students: Year 1: Drug Information

Try the new PharmD guide!

This Pharmacy Students: Year 1 guide is no longer updated. Please visit the new PharmD Program guide for links to useful books, databases, and other information resources to support your pharmacy education at USC, and instruction provided by librarians from the Norris Medical Library in the School's curriculum, for students in all years of the USC PharmD program.

Drug Information Resources

Micromedex
Brief and detailed monographs for prescription and over the counter drugs; The Red Book for drug pricing; interactive tools for interactions and compatibility; additional references on drug names, toxicology, patient education,and diseases.
UpToDate Lexidrug (formerly Lexicomp)
Monographs, ebooks and interactive tools covering over the counter and prescription drugs.
Facts and Comparisons
Monographs for prescription and over the counter drugs; interactive tools for interactions and drug ID; additional references on natural products and off-label uses.

Mobile Resources (for Health Sciences) Guide
Includes apps and mobile websites for USC students, faculty, and staff. Various apps available through USC Library subscriptions.

Using Drug Compendia (tutorial)
Use this interactive tutorial to test yourself on accessing, searching, and using compendia.

RxSelect (formerly Pharmacist's Letter)
Evidence-based, timely summaries of drug information and policies for immediate impact on patient care. Pharm D students receive free access to RxSelect, a product from Pharmacist's Letter (PL). Sign up for RxSelect access using this page. The USC Libraries also buy a subscription of PL for staff and faculty pharmacist use.


Type of Question	Best Bet Resource	Alternate Resource(s)
Adverse Drug Reactions	Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs Norris Medical Library, Reference, QZ 42 S568 2016	American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Drug Information Side Effects of Drug Annual Search the Catalog for Meyler's: USC subscribes to several books from this series covering specific drug classes.
Compounding	Allen's Compounded Formulations: the Complete US Pharmacist Collection. Norris Medical Library, Upper Level, QV 778 A433 2003	Compounding Sterile Preparations Trissel's Stability of Compounded Formulations, Reserve, QV 735 t837t 2018 The Art, Science, and Technology of Pharmaceutical Compounding Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy. Norris Medical Library, Reserve, QV 704 R388 2013
Dictionaries	Dictionary of Pharmacy (2017) Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine (2014)	The Libraries own several other dictionaries focusing on pharmacy-related professions. Search the Catalog for drug dictionary, pharmacoepidemiology dictionary, etc., for more titles.
Drug-Drug Interactions	Stockley's Drug Interactions. Norris Medical Library, Upper level, QV 39 S865 2010	Stockley's Drug Interaction Pocket Companion 2016 Drug Interaction Facts (Tatro). Norris Medical Library, Upper Level, QV 39 D7945 2013 Use interactive tools in Micromedex or UpToDate Lexidrugs
Drug-Food Interactions	Food Medication Interactions. Norris Medical Library, Upper Level, QV 37.5 P965f 2015	Use interactive tools in Facts & Comparisons E-Answers or Micromedex
Equivalent Products	The Orange Book. Need help using the Orange Book? Watch a video from the FDA.
Foreign Drugs (Non-US)	Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference. Accessed via Micromedex. Search for a drug name, then select the Martindale entry from results.	Index Nominum. Accessed via Micromedex. Search for a drug name, then select the Index Nominum entry from results.
Geriatrics	Geriatric Dosing Handbook. Norris Medical Library, Reference, QV 39 G369	UpToDate Lexidrug includes Geriatric Lexi-Drugs. Search for a drug name, then select the geriatric monograph.
Identification	Ident-a-drug Reference. Norris Medical Library, Reference, QV 39 I19 2011	Identidex (through Micromedex) Drug ID (through UpToDate Lexidrug)
Infectious Disease	Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy	Pharmacist's Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy and Stewardship. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Disease
IV Compatibility	ASHP Injectable Drug Information (former title: Trissel's)	IV Compatibility (through Micromedex) Trissell's IV Compatibility (through UpToDate Lexidrugs)
Laboratory tests	Effects of Drugs on Clinical Laboratory Tests. Norris Medical Library, Reference, QV 38 Y69e 2000	Wallach's Interpretation of Diagnostic Tests.
Natural products	Natural Medicines	Natural Products Database available in UpToDate Lexidrug. Search for the product/ingredient and select the result from Natural Products Database.
Off-label use	Facts and Comparisons Off-Label available in UpToDate Lexidrug. Search for the drug and select the result from Facts and Comparisons Off-Label.	American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Drug Information. In-Depth monographs from Micromedex include information.
OTC Medications	The Handbook of Non-Prescription Drugs' electronic version has been renamed to "APhA OTC". Browse the modules to find all content available in the print handbook.	LexiDrugs (through UpToDate Lexidrug)
Package inserts	DailyMed	Physician's Desk Reference. Norris Medical Library Reference, QV 772 P578 Many manufacturers make the package inserts available freely through their websites.
Pediatrics	Pediatric & Neonatal Dosage Handbook. Norris Medical Library, Reference, WS 39 P3705 2017	UpToDate Lexidrug includes Pediatric Lexi-Drugs. Search for a drug name, then select the pediatric monograph. Pediatric and Injectable Drugs (Teddy Bear Book) 2025 is also available.
Pregnancy & Lactation	Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation (formerly known as Brigg's)	Hale's Medications and Mother's Milk Drugs for Pregnant and Lactating Women. LactMed
Pricing	Red Book (Print edition discontinued; only access available via Micromedex)	The Red Book includes the most comprehensive pricing data. Free websites like drugs.com or goodrx.com will aggregate costs paid by patients to fill prescriptions, with or without insurance coverage. Search literature for cost-comparison articles to find additional pricing and cost data.
Stability & Compatibility	ASHP Injectable Drug Information (former title: Trissel's)	Extended Stability for Parenteral Drugs (2023)
Toxicology	Micromedex includes the POISONDEX handbook. Select "Tox and Drug product lookup" from the top bar.	LexiDrug Toxicology is part of UpToDate Lexidrug subscription. Select More Clinical Tools, then Toxicology.
Veterinary Information	Merck Veterinary Manual	Search the Catalog for names of species and type of information needed ("cows and vaccine"; "dogs and analgesics") to find handbooks on specific animal species. Plumb's Veterinary Drugs book is heavily discounted for Pharm D students in some years. Go to Plumb's website and search for student discount. PubMed@USC includes primary articles covering veterinary care. BIOSIS includes basic sciences and veterinary-specific articles.

RxSelect (formerly Pharmacist's Letter) activation link
This is the USC subscribed version of RxSelect intended for faculty and staff use. Students in all US schools of Pharmacy receive free access from the company.

PubMed@USC
PubMed provides access to millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. This version is customized for USC users to find the full-text of articles.
International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (Ovid)
Worldwide coverage of pharmaceutical science and practice literature. Includes coverage of drug development, pharmacoeconomics, toxicity, regulation, and technology.
Embase
Embase provides access to over more than 29 million citations for biomedical articles and conference proceedings.
Google Patents
Search US Patent Office applications, European Union patent applications, and Japanese patent applications using Google's search structures. Search US Patent office data using Google search techniques. Includes searchable full-text of US patents from 1790.
SciFinder
Articles, patents, and white papers describing chemicals. Includes information on structures, reactions, compounds, drug development, and manufacturing. Requires separate login. Go to USC's create an account page to register.

Drugs@FDA
Search for prescription and over the counter drugs approved for sale in the United States; find approved labels, original application documents as submitted by the drug company, and replies from the Food and Drug Administration.
DailyMed: Drug Package Inserts
Online access to current and past United States Food and Drug Administration-approved labels for prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
European Medicines Agency
This organization approves and regulates human and veterinary medicines in the European Union (EU). Find detailed information on approved drugs, news about the EMA, and information on how drugs are tested and regulated in the EU.
Therapeutic Goods Administration- Australian Public Assessment Reports for Prescription Medicines
Package labels and scientific reviews of drug products approved for use in Australia. The TGA is the Australian government's analogue to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Health Canada - Drugs and Health Products
Health Canada regulates drugs and health products in Canada. Find reports and publications, recalls, legislation and guidelines, and additional information.

Micromedex App
Drug monographs, drug-drug oral interactions, and IV compatibility.
1. To activate app, connect the mobile device you wish to download the app onto, to USC Secure Wireless
2. Open your device's App/Play store. Search for and download the Micromedex app.
3. Open the app. You have two ways to authenticate:
a. Click the Activate Now button shown in the app.
b. Copy the code shown. On the same device, open a web browser and go to the Micromedex app activation page. Enter the code. Click Activate Now.

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1. To activate app, connect the mobile device you wish to download the app onto, to USC Secure Wireless
2. Open your device's App/Play store. Search for and download the Micromedex app.
3. Open the app. You have two ways to authenticate:
a. Click the Activate Now button shown in the app.
b. Copy the code shown. On the same device, open a web browser and go to the Micromedex app activation page. Enter the code. Click Activate Now.
UpToDate App
Includes UpToDate outlines, UpToDate Lexidrug's oral interactions checker, links to commonly used guidelines, and calculators. Click this link, make a personal account, then download the app and log in with the personal account information.
Mobile Resources (for Health Sciences) Guide
Includes apps and mobile websites for USC students, faculty, and staff. Various apps freely available or through USC Library subscriptions.

Pharmacy apps for clinical rotations
Take apps with you on rotations to allow you to answer questions and make better decisions for patients. This chart lists common types of materials needed on APPEs and locates them in apps USC Libraries license. Updated Oct 2025.
Books recommended for students on APPEs
The book "Maximize Your Rotations: ASHP’s Student Guide to IPPEs, APPEs, and Beyond" recommends ~60 books that students have access to during APPEs. This chart includes about 45 books, and identifies whether USC owns the book through an app, or through a web-only subscription.