Inside: A new smartphone app from the FDA makes finding drug information easy. Discover how pharmacists can use this new FDA app to help patients.
Information on every human drug is only a few finger taps away, thanks to a new mobile app from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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The FDA has turned one of its most popular web pages, Drugs@FDA, into a mobile app. Pharmacists and patients can access the FDA app from their mobile devices. “The FDA is continuously seeking ways to bring information to consumers in more accessible formats,” said Jeremy Kahn, a spokesperson for the FDA. “We hope that by making this important health information more easily accessible, we can help empower patients and providers in making their treatment decisions.”
The Drugs@FDA Express mobile app contains information on FDA-approved:
- Brand drugs
- Generic drugs
- Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs
- Biological therapeutic products
Information includes labels, reviews, and patient information. The app features the most recent product approvals, within seven days.
The included drugs go as far back as 1939. But most of the drugs were approved after 1998. Some information, like labeling supplements and approval letters, are only found on the website, not the app.
How pharmacists can use the FDA app
Pharmacists can use the app to educate themselves about drugs, learn about recently approved drugs, or access pertinent information to help patients.
Search the app by product name, active ingredient, or application number. You’ll see the drug’s name, type, marketing status, TE code, RLD, and reference standard. You’ll also find the drug’s approval history with accompanying labels.
Pharmacists can use the app to help answer patients’ questions. You can also show them how to use the app themselves. The drug information on the app can come in handy if patients lose or ruin the drug’s label. They can access directions and warnings through the app.
“With the launch of the Drugs@FDA Express mobile app, we’re bringing the public important information about drugs in an easy-to-use, mobile format,” Kahn said.
Download the free app through your mobile device’s app store.
On the app
The Drugs@FDA Express mobile app houses information on every FDA-approved human drug. Here’s what you can find on the FDA app to educate yourself or your patients.
- Approved labels for approved drug products
- Generic drug products for an innovator drug product
- Therapeutically equivalent drug products for an innovator or generic drug product
- Patient information for drugs approved since 1998
- All drugs with a specific active ingredient
- Approval history, including approval letters and review packages of a drug
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