Subject guides: Pharmacy Guide: Key Resources

Key resources for pharmacy students:

Australian Immunisation Handbook Provides clinical advice for health professionals on the safest and most effective use of vaccines in their practice.
Australian Injectable Drugs Handbook AIDH provides up-to-date information on injectable medicines. The 5th edition contains more than 400 injectable medicines, each monograph includes availability, generic/trade names, preparation, administration, stability, compatibility/incompatibility data, & special notes. Paediatric-specific information is also included in many of the monographs.
Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) Note: there is a limit of 2 concurrent user sessions, please log out when finished. Australian Medicines Handbook's mission is to provide concise practical, reliable, comparative drug information to promote quality use of medicines in Australia. The company is independent of both government and the pharmaceutical industry.
CARPA Standard Treatment Manual A clinic manual for primary health care practitioners in remote and Indigenous health services in central and northern Australia.
Clinical Procedures Manual - for remote and rural practice
Don't Rush to Crush Australia’s essential guide to safely administering oral medicines to people with enteral feeding tubes or swallowing difficulties.
Martindale: complete drug reference guide Martindale contains information on drugs in clinical use worldwide, as well as selected investigational and veterinary drugs, herbal and complementary medicines, pharmaceutical excipients, vitamins and nutritional agents, vaccines, radiopharmaceuticals, contrast media and diagnostic agents, medicinal gases, drugs of abuse and recreational drugs, toxic substances, disinfectants, and pesticides.
Medicines Book Medicines Book for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners
Merck Manual
MIMS online with drug interactions Provides access to the full MIMS database of abbreviated and full information (including OTC) on prescription and non-prescription drugs available in Australia. Alerts are provided for interactions between medicines, food, health conditions and patient allergies, and full colour product identification pictures are available. The Drug Interactions module references the most current international primary and tertiary literature on potential drug to drug interactions, and warns healthcare providers if the drugs being used by a patient or prescribed to a patient may interact with each other.
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) This website contains information on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme including details of the medicines subsidised by the Australian Government as well as information for consumers, carers, health professionals and the pharmaceutical industry. The PBS is part of Australia's broader National Medicines Policy (NMP).
Remote Primary Health Care Manuals Widely used and highly regarded resources in remote health across central, northern, and remote Australia, supporting and promoting good clinical practice in primary health care.
Stockley's Drug Interactions This resource provides drug information and interactions.
Therapeutic Guidelines Therapeutic guidelines includes the latest version of all the topics published by Therapeutics Guidelines Limited. It provides access to therapeutic guidelines with instructions for therapy and practical treatment advice. Access to relevant PBS data including pregnancy and breastfeeding information ; Links to key references, full text articles and relevant Cochrane Library Reviews ; Links to other independent information ; Australian Prescriber (including Medicines Safety Update), NPS RADAR, NPS News and Clinical Evidence ; technical enhancements such as calculators for creatinine clearance and ideal body weight.
Women's Business Manual Standard Treatment Manual for Women’s Business in remote and Indigenous health services in central and northern Australia Minymaku Kutju Tjukurpa: ‘Women Only Story’

Key databases

Most of the information in the following databases is available in "fulltext" format, which means you can download the whole article (usually in PDF or HTML format) and then print it, email it or just read it.

Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
JBI COnNECT via OvidSP This link opens in a new window
MEDLINE with Full Text This link opens in a new window
PubMed This link opens in a new window
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Springer eJournals This link opens in a new window
UpToDate This link opens in a new window
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window

Annual Reviews of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Legislated Pharmaceutical Information

Additional resources

AustLII: Australasian Legal Information Institute
Provides full text access to Australian legal materials including primary legal materials (legislation, treaties and decisions of courts and tribunals); and secondary legal materials created by public bodies for purposes of public access.
Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (AHPRA)
The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (the National Law) was enacted in each state and territory of Australia in 2009 and 2010. The goal of the National Law was to create a national registration and accreditation scheme for registered health practitioners (the National Scheme).
Therapeutic Goods Act 1989
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is part of the Australian Government Department of Health and is responsible for regulating therapeutic goods including prescription medicines, vaccines, sunscreens, vitamins and minerals, medical devices, blood and blood products.

Links to the state and territory departments responsible for monitoring and controlling the supply of scheduled substances:

The Poisons Standard - Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP)
The Poisons Standard February 2022, which, under section 4 above contains the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons No. 35 (“the Standard” or “the SUSMP”), is made under paragraph 52D(2)(b) of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, and is a compilation of decisions made under section 52D of the same Act.
Pharmacy Board of Australia (PBA) - Codes, Guidelines and Policies
he Pharmacy Board of Australia has developed codes, guidelines and policies to provide guidance to the profession. These also help to clarify the Board’s views and expectations on a range of issues.
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) - Professional Practice Standards
PSA’s Professional Practice Standards (PPS) articulate the values of the pharmacy profession and expected standards of professional behaviour of pharmacists towards individuals, the community and society. The PPS underpins the professional practice of all pharmacists in Australia.
The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) - Standards of Practice
SHPA's Standards of Practice series is widely utilised and well-referenced by pharmacists and health professionals seeking guidance on the delivery of clinical, operational and specialty hospital pharmacy services.