Finding Information: First Steps

Medical writing, like most science writing, involves knowing how to find the information you need and knowing how to assess the quality of the information that you find. Some medical writers specialise within a specific area of medicine, but most of us are continually taking on projects in medical fields and therapeutic areas that are new to us. This often means getting ourselves 'up to speed' on a topic quickly.

While textbooks, encyclopedias, and print journals were once the the first place to go to understand a medical topic or find information, the Internet is now a common first stop. Not only is a lot of information available online, but so are some databases, like PubMed, and the full-text content of many medical journals

If I'm looking up a disease, my first stop is usually the Merck Manual of Medical Information (home edition), followed by a medical encyclopedia, print or online, with a good medical dictionary by my side. I may also use Wikipedia or Medline Plus, as well as the Merck Manual online. Here are some suggestions for good medical dictionaries and other resources:

• Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment (available in print and online at most medical libraries)
  
• Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (available online $$)
  
• Stedman's Medical Dictionary (available online $$)
  
• Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine (available online $$)
  
• Mosby's Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary (available online $$)

If you're lucky enough to have a medical library where you live, medical textbooks and books are also great sources of more in depth information. Often there are many books published on a medical topic. Make sure to choose the most recent. In medicine, anything older than two years risks being seriously out of date! To help you find the best one, ask the medical librarian.

If am looking up drug information, my first stop is the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS; at least, if my context is Canadian). The CPS is published by the Canadian Pharmacists Association and contains abbreviated Product Monographs for each pharmaceutical product approved for sale in Canada. It is available in print and online. If you don't have access to the CPS, then try getting the Product Monograph or Prescribing Information from the manufacturer's Canadian website.

After the CPS, my next stop is usually Wikipedia or Medline Plus. These sites will usually give me a bigger picture than the Prescribing Information in the CPS. I may also look at the the drug's American (USA) website, under the information for healthcare professionals section. (Don't look for information on Canadian sites, by law they can't provide it. we'll learn more about that in a later module.)

Sometimes you can find textbooks that deal with a specific drug or class of drugs. These can be useful if you're looking for more in depth information and need to get into the pharmacology of a drug.