Electronic Databases

OHSU provides access to a large number of computer databases from a number of vendors. This section will describe these resources, but not discuss specific techniques (with the exception of a description of heading/subheading combinations in clinically oriented databases) on how they are searched.

If you are interested in learning more about how to use one of the following databases, you can contact the library to make an individual appointment with a reference librarian.

Pharmacology Databases

A list of 41 bibliographic and factual databases from all OHSU vendors that contain some aspect of Pharmacy and/or Pharmacology has been compiled and can be accessed via this link from the Databases page

Searching for Pharmaceutical and Pharmacologic concepts using heading/subheading index term combinations
Many clinically oriented databases rely on consistent indexing to conceptually gather articles sharing subject content under a single index term. An additional feature of MEDLINE indexing is the use of "Subheadings" to designate separate specific aspects of an assigned Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) term.

There are a number of pharmacologically relevant subheadings that can be used to narrow searches to aspects pertaining to drugs and chemicals. These include:

Adverse effects (AE)
Toxicity (TO)
Poisoning (PO)
Therapeutic use (TU)
Chemistry (CH)
Metabolism (ME)
Pharmacology (PD)
Pharmacokinetics (PK)
Administration & Dosage (AD)
Contraindications (CT)
Antagonists & Inhibitors (AI)
Analogues & Derivatives (AA)

A full listing of all MeSH subheadings with scope notes on their proper usage can be found here.

A search on a MeSH term in combination with a subheading (e.g. Tamoxifen/metabolism or GABA Agents/contraindications) will limit the results to only those articles which discuss that specific aspect of the subject.

Other databases feature similar functions and users need to be aware that different vendors will implement these functions in compliance with the features of their interface, so you'll need to examine the help documentation if you want to learn more about how to search a specific database. Also remember that reference librarians are available for 1-on-1 appointments via our Ask-a-Librarian feature for assistance in using any library resource.

Individual Database Vendors

• OVID
  OVID is the primary database vendor used by OHSU. The following bibliographic databases are available via OVID.

· MEDLINE (1966-present)
· CINAHL (1982-present)
· Biosis (1990-present)
· PsychInfo (1872-present)
· EBM Reviews

Specific questions about how to use OVID can be directed to our OVID Online page or to a Reference Librarian.

• EMBASE
  EMBASE is a bibliographic database focusing on biomedical and pharmacological information drawn from the international literature. Users can do a simple quick search, or choose one of a number of advanced search options including a "Drug Search" option. This allows a user to select a specific drug and the ability to add limits that will focus on such as concepts as “Adverse Drug Reaction”, “Pharmacoeconomics”, or “Drug comparison” as well as the selection of one or more of 47 different routes of administration.
  
• MICROMEDEX ( On-campus | Off-campus)
  Allows searchers to find summaries and detailed monographs for drugs, disease, alternative medicine, toxicological managements, reproductive risks, and emergency care. Includes tools on drug interactions, IV compatibility, and dosing calculators.
  
• Up-to-Date
  A clinical information resource that includes thousands of original topic reviews written by recognized experts. It is designed to provide quick access to synthesized medical information in an easy-to-use format. NOT AVAILABLE OFF-CAMPUS
  
• StatRef!
  Searchable collection of 31 clinical reference texts including AHFS Drug Information, Katzung's Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, Ellenhorn’s Medical Toxicology, Mosby’s Drug Consult, Review of Natural Products, USP-DI Advice for the Patient, and USP-DI Drug Information for the Health Care Professional.
  
• MDConsult
  MD Consult is a virtual clinical library that includes 52 journals, over 32 textbooks, clinical practice guidelines, and customizable patient education handouts. It also features drug information from Mosby's Drug Consult including an identification guide, indications, comparative tables, normal values and other useful information. MDConsult requires that users register for an individual account to access this resource.
  
• EBSCOHost
  Our EBSCO subscription provides access to 14 databases covering a broad spectrum of topics including non-scientific areas such as Newspaper articles and Business literature. One of our EBSCO databases is Clinical Pharmacology. – This database provides access to up-to-date, concise and clinically-relevant drug monographs for all U.S. prescription drugs, hard-to-find herbal and nutritional supplements, over-the-counter products and new and investigational drugs. Includes photos of tablets.
  
• ISI - Web of Science
  Web of Knowledge can be used to search for original articles, but its main strength lies in its qualities as a citation index. This feature allows users to locate more recent items by using a known older article to track items that have cited that previous work.
  
• National Library of Medicine Databases
  • PubMed
    PubMed is available via the NCBI Entrez retrieval system at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), located at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). PubMed is provided to the public without charge and can be accessed from any computer with a connection to the WWW. PubMed provides users with a natural language interface to search MEDLINE and will link to related sequence, genome & structure information found in the other Entrez molecular biology databases. PubMed was designed to provide access to citations from the biomedical literature and Full Text links to some of the materials are available.
  • MedlinePlus
    A consumer health site created by the National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus provides full text access to USP-DI vol. II, Advice for the Patient, and derives some drug information from MedMaster.
  • TOXNET
    TOXNET is a free service of NLM providing access to databases in toxicology and environmental health. Via TOXNET a user can access information concerning hazardous substances and do structure based chemical searching within the ChemIDplus resource. New resources within TOXNET include a Household Products Database.
    
• Cambridge Science Abstracts
  Provides access to a group of 12 environmental bibliographic databases including Toxicology Abstracts

Electronic Journals

We have recently moved our electronic journals to the catalog. We currently do not have subject-specific access to titles, but we are working on a replacement.

OHSU provides electronic access to many of the journals within our collection. Users possessing library barcodes will be able to access the full text of many of these electronic journal articles off-site. While we have a significant number of electronic subscriptions, not all OHSU journals are available in an electronic format. We also have some journals that are not available in a paper format and are available only in an electronic format.

Electronic Books

Pharmacology E-Books
OHSU has access to a number of Electronic Text and Reference Books from a variety of sources. A link to the list of pharmacy related E-Books is listed above.

Electronic Reference Resources

Drug information E-Reference Resources
Pharmacognosy E-Reference Resources
This site is designed to connect users with free web-based reference information resources. The two links above are for the Pharmacology related categories available via this page. You can also navigate to the top of the page to select a topic from the subject list, or browse the entire page for free web-based reference resources in other subjects.