Purdue Pharma-led survey finds myriad errors in online resources

STAMFORD, Conn. — Purdue Pharma released the results of a new Collaborative Compendia Review Project (CCRP) research study Tuesday, noting that it found misinformation among online drug information compendia (ODIC). The study, which was published online in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, evaluated the accuracy and completeness of five commonly used resources: Medscape Reference, Lexicomp Online, Lexi-Drugs, Epocrates Online, Drugs.com and RxList.

 

"This is an important study that highlights the need for HCPs (health care professionals) and consumers to use multiple sources when seeking drug information, as there were a surprisingly large number of errors, including inaccuracies and outdated information, across various drug summaries in online drug information compendia,” said Amarita S. Randhawa, lead study author, and Purdue Pharma’s senior manager of medical services. 

 

The 11 participating pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies looked at 270 drug summaries on the sites between August 2014 and January 2015, finding a median of 782 errors. Most errors identified had to do with incomplete information, as well as inaccurate and omitted information. 

 

“As ODIC use expands, it is crucial to ensure drug summaries are up-to-date, accurate and complete,” Randhawa said. “Purdue Pharma has implemented an ongoing compendia review process, which served as the model for this collaborative initiative and is briefly outlined in the publication."