The ''Prescriber's Digital Reference'' (''PDR'') is a compilation of manufacturers' prescribing information ( package insert) on
prescription drug
A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The rea ...
s, updated regularly and published by ConnectiveRx.
History
The original PDR was titled "Physician's Desk Reference" but was renamed because not all prescribers are physicians and the reference is no longer a hardback book stored on a desk. While designed to provide
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s with the full legally mandated information relevant to writing prescriptions (just as its name suggests), it is widely available in
libraries
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
and
bookstore
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...
s, widely used by other medical specialists, and sometimes valuable to the
layman
In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperso ...
. The compilation is financially supported in part by pharmaceutical manufacturing corporations which create drugs listed within its pages. The 71st Edition, published in 2017, was the final hardcover edition. It weighed in at and contained information on over 1,000 drugs.
Since then, the PDR has been available online (PDR.net) for free, and has been integrated into some
electronic health record
An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared throu ...
(EHR) systems. PDR.net also links to a free mobile app.
The ''Physicians' Desk Reference'' was first published in 1947 by Medical Economics Inc., a magazine publisher founded by Lansing Chapman. Medical Economics Inc. merged with Reinhold Publishing in 1966 to form Chapman-Reinhold.
Litton Industries
Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr.
During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. A ...
, who owned the American Book Company, acquired Chapman-Reinhold in 1968. Litton sold its publishing business to the
International Thomson Organization
International Thomson Organization (ITO) was a holding company for interests in publishing, travel, and natural resources, that existed from 1978 to 1989. It was formed as a reorganisation of the Thomson Organization, which had been founded by R ...
(ITO) in 1981.
Since the late 20th century, a consumer edition has been offered at a much reduced price. Electronic editions are available on CD-ROM and the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
to subscribers. In 1984, Paul C. Kranz and Michael Grondin travelled to
Oradell, New Jersey
Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,244,, an increase of 266 from the 2010 census count of 7,978.TI 99/4A computer of how a digital copy of the PDR would work and benefit clinicians. The idea originally conceived by Kranz was well received by the president and vice-president of IT and an agreement was struck to investigate. The result was the ''PDR'' on CD-ROM. The main edition is usable by determined laypeople in conjunction with a
medical dictionary
A medical dictionary is a lexicon for words used in medicine. The three major medical dictionaries in the United States are '' Stedman's'', '' Taber's'', and ''Dorland's''. Other significant medical dictionaries are distributed by Elsevier. Di ...
.
ITO successor
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre.
Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corp ...
sold the ''Physicians' Desk Reference'' to Lee Equity Partners in 2009; Lee formed the new parent company PDR Network. Lee sold PDR Network to
Genstar Capital
Genstar Capital is a private equity firm that executes leveraged buyout transactions in middle-market companies based in North America. Founded in 1988, Genstar currently has approximately $33 billion in assets under management.
Based in Sa ...
in 2015. Genstar merged PDR Network into the new company ConnectiveRx.
About the ''PDR''
The ''PDR'' material contained includes:
*Comprehensive indexing (four sections)
**by Manufacturer
**Products (by company's or trademarked drug name)
**Category index (for example, "antibiotics")
**Generic/chemical index (non-trademark common drug names)
*Color images of medications
*Product information, consistent with FDA labeling
**Chemical information
**Function/action
**Indications & Contraindications
**Trial research, side effects, warnings
Related references
The PDR has several versions and related volumes:
* ''PDR''
* ''PDR for Nonprescription Drugs, Dietary Supplements, and Herbs''
* ''PDR Drug Interactions and Side Effects Index''
* ''PDR''health—Version in lay terms.
* ''PDR Family Guide to Over-the-Counter Drugs''—Lay term guide to non-prescription medication.
* ''PDR for Ophthalmic Medicines''
* ''PDR Drug Guide for Mental Health Professionals''
* ''PDR for Herbal Medicines''
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...