How to Reference the Physicians' Drug Reference

The Physicians' Desk Reference is an annually published text that lists up-to-date and detailed information about prescription pharmaceuticals. The PDR has been printed every year since 1946 and has a long history of use by medical professionals across the United States and Canada. While it is written in medical jargon that seemingly only a doctor could comprehend, with just a little preparation you too can learn to reference the PDR. To do this, you need to gain a basic understanding of how the PDR is laid out and organized.

Instructions

• 1

  Determine the brand name of the pharmaceutical that you are interested in learning about.

• 2

  Use the PDR's index to locate the manufacturer of the pharmaceutical you are searching for. Pharmaceuticals are listed in alphabetical order under their manufacturer's name. The PDR is broken up into alphabetically organized sections based on manufacturer. You will find the pharmaceutical you are looking for in the section corresponding to its manufacturer.

• 3

  Turn to the page describing the pharmaceutical. Here you will find a detailed description of the pharmaceutical's common uses, dosages, contraindications, warnings and chemical structure.

• 4

  Use the PDR's index to also look up medical conditions you would like to research. The PDR's index lists all the pharmaceuticals used to treat a particular medical condition and refers you to their locations in the text.

• 5

  Use the PDR's index to also find particular body parts that may require pharmaceutical treatment. The PDR contains lists of common pharmaceuticals used to treat medical conditions affecting particular body parts.