CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

PDR® FAMILY OF REFERENCES


ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Welcome to the PDR® Electronic Library™.  This issue of the PDR database is current through the most recent edition of Physicians' Desk Reference®, PDR Supplement A, PDR Supplement B, PDR for Nonprescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements™, PDR for Ophthalmic Medicines™, and PDR Drug Interactions and Side Effects System at the time of this release.  Please see disk label for release date.

This data and the accompanying retrieval software and documentation are furnished under the nonexclusive, nontransferable license provided herewith.  The PDR database includes all complete pharmaceutical product descriptions published in PDR, PDR for Nonprescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements, and PDR for Opthalmic Medicines, as well as the interactions, side effects, and indications data contained in the PDR Drug Interactions and Side Effects System.  All PDR contents are copyright (c) 2001 and published by Medical Economics Company, Inc. at Montvale, NJ 07645.  All rights reserved.  The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy is published by Merck Research Laboratories, Division of Merck & Co., Inc. and copyright (c) 1999 by Merck & Co., Inc. at Rahway, NJ.  All rights reserved.  Selected images, copyright (c) 1985-1994 Hospital Medicine.  The Merck Manual of Geriatrics, copyright (c) 1995 by Merck & Co., Folio Corp. portions, copyright (c) 1999 Medifor,Inc.  Stedman's Medical Dictionary is copyright (c) 1997 and published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, MD.  All rights reserved.

None of the contents of this CD-ROM may be reproduced in any form except as stipulated in your license agreement.  Further distribution, resale, or transmission is expressly prohibited.  The publisher does not warrant the accuracy of content, indexing, or operation, and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages of any kind, whether arising out of use or inability to use, or in any other way connected with, this product.  This disc expires two years from its release date.  Data used following expiration cannot be deemed current.

The Physicians' Desk Reference database is produced and maintained by Medical Economics, the publisher of PDR, under the direction of Mukesh Mehta, R.Ph.   It is sold, marketed, distributed, and supported by Micromedex, Inc. and Medical Economics Co.

Please address questions and requests for technical assistance to Micromedex External Technical Support:

Phone:    (800) 525-9083,  option 3

Fax:        (303) 486-6450

Email:     techsupp@mdx.com


THE PDR FAMILY OF REFERENCES

Since its inception more than 50 years ago, Physicians' Desk Reference has grown from a single slim volume into an entire set of specialized reference works. PDR itself -- now over 3,300 pages long and the size of a phone book -- covers prescription drugs and serves as the core of the set. It is supplemented by "PDR for Nonprescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements" and "PDR for Ophthalmic Medicines," covering over-the-counter medications, supplements and herbs, and specialized ophthalmologicals, respectively.  In addition, the "PDR Companion Guide" serves as a time-saving cross-reference to the three basic works, sparing users the chore of hunting through scores of underlying entries for references to a particular indication, contraindication, side effect, or interaction. The book also forms the basis for the automatic prescription-screening programs available in the PDR Electronic Library.

Other books in the growing set of PDR references include "PDR Medical Dictionary," with over 100,000 entries and a comprehensive guide to pharmaceutical names, the "PDR Nurse's Dictionary," a pocket-sized condensation of the medical dictionary, and the "PDR Nurse's Drug Handbook," a convenient portable drug reference boasting complete coverage of nursing implications.  In addition, PDR now offers consumers a growing series of health care handbooks, including "The PDR Family Guide to Prescription Drugs," "The PDR Family Guide Encyclopedia of Medical Care," and "The PDR Family Guide to Over-the-Counter Medications" and our latest title, "The PDR Family Guide to Natural Medicines and Healing Therapies.

The PDR family of references also includes a steadily expanding set of electronic products.  In addition to the "PDR Electronic Library" CD-ROM, there's the unique "Pocket PDR Plus Databank," a handheld electronic device that contains verbatim information on indications, contraindications, warnings, adverse reactions, dosage and administration, and how supplied for every prescription drug in PDR.  This state-of-the-art reference can be updated with a data cartridge the size of a matchbook, and offers some of the same quick look-up facilities found in your CD-ROM, including global word search.  PDR is also available for PDA devices, including PDR for Palm.  And for those times when there's no PDR product handy, the complete PDR database of prescribing information is now available any time, anywhere, at pdr.net on the World Wide Web  (http://www.pdr.net).

We are confident that somewhere within this battery of specialized drug references, there is one that will precisely meet your needs. For more information, or to order any of these products, please call toll-free 1-800-232-7379.  Specific inquiries on PDR products may also be sent via Internet e-mail to PDR@medec.com.

Information on the wide range of medical products and services available from Medical Economics is also available at our site on the World Wide Web (http://www.medec.com).