Medications come in various forms, namely liquids and solids. Examples of solid medications are pills, tablets, and powders. Liquids can be enteral (ingested) and parenteral (injected or inhaled). Some drugs are given as a gas or aerosol.

Medications given by the enteral route include sublingual (under the tongue) nitroglycerin and oral glucose. Medications given by the parenteral route include oxygen, albuterol, and epinephrine. Epinephrine can be given subcutaneously (injected under the skin), intramuscular (injected into a muscle) and intravenous (through an intravenous line).

Drug Names

When it comes to generic vs brand name drugs, the main difference is name and appearance. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires generic drugs to have the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route of administration as the brand-name drug. They are also developed and approved according to the same standards as brand name drugs. An example of a commonly carried medication is epinephrine. Epinephrine is an example of a generic name. The same epinephrine can be called EpiPen, Adrenoclick, etc. as a trade name. The trade name allows the pharmaceutical companies the ability to make one drug and sell in it multiple markets for various conditions under different packaging.

Drug Profiles

Pharmacodynamics is the study of the biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs (especially pharmaceutical drugs). The effects can include those manifested within animals (including humans), microorganisms, or combinations of organisms (for example, infection).

The pharmacodynamics of a drug determine it’s function in patient care. The intended function or purpose of the drug is referred to as an indication. Pharmaceutical companies work around the clock experimenting with new medications; sometimes a drug starts out to treat diabetes but is later used to treat hypertension. The drug is marketed based on it’s intended effects. Clinical trials typically reveal situations where the drug would be harmful to a patient; this is known as a contraindication. All drugs have side effects, (typically nausea, vomiting, diarrhea). When the side effects are particularly dangerous, they are referred to as untoward effects. Unintended side effects are to be expected with any drug, so long as the benefits of taking the medication outweigh the cost. During clinical trials, dosing of a medication is established (more is not always better). Many drugs have completely different effects at varying doses. The optimal drug route is also established. Maybe the drug is better tolerated with an intramuscular injection as opposed to oral ingestion.

The Prescribing Information is written for the healthcare practitioner and must:

• Contain a summary of essential scientific information needed for safe and effective use of the human prescription drug or biological product.
• Be informative and accurate and neither promotional in tone nor false or misleading
• Be updated when new information becomes available that causes labeling to become inaccurate, false, or misleading

Application holders should review prescribing information at least annually for outdated information.