This CD-ROM product is designed to help health professionals identify unknown medicines. This is useful in many circumstances such as when unlabelled pills are found in association with an overdose, or when travellers from overseas present with tablets that are not available in this country.

Identification is achieved through through colour images of the medicines themselves, as well as through searchable variables which include shape, colour, imprint, coating, and brand or generic name. This software program is therefore useful for identifying a possible match for an unknown medication, or to identify what a particular drug-form looks like. When the known parameters are entered of a tablet or capsule, for example, a list of matching items is returned.

The major limitation (for the use of this CD-ROM in New Zealand) is that the medications listed are those available in the United States. Therefore the specific brands or appearances that feature in New Zealand are unlikely to be found within the software. In addition it is not particularly relevent for drugs from countries other than the United States.

While the software is very easy to use and does what it does do well, the usefulness of this package in New Zealand would be limited to a highly specialised group of users. There may be some benefit to groups who are regularly asked to identify (particularly foreign) medications, such as drug information services, the National Poisons Centre, and some pharmacies. Indeed, our own drug information section has already found it useful.