A Progress Report: Drug Information from 1970 to 2000
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Drug Information Journal, Vol. 34, pp. 1355-1363, 2000 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
A PROGRESS REPORT: DRUG INFORMATION FROM 1970 TO 2000 CHARLES F. CURRAN,PHD Director, Professional Affairs, Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri
The technology available for the support of pharmaceutical company drug information department activities in 1970 is described as a baseline for enumerating and evaluating the fundamental and profound technological changes of the final three decades of the twentieth century. These changes have altered rates and methods of accessing drug information, approaches taken in evaluating information, and the speed at which information is provided to inquirers. These alterations, and the accompanying changes in the nature and quality of drug information services currently provided, are discussed in detail. Key Words: Drug information; Literature searching; Automation; Internet
INTRODUCTION WHEN I ACCEPTED A drug information position at a major pharmaceutical company in 1970, equipment and services were state of the art. The typewriters were electric and a sophisticated information system was present in which articles were searchable by key words using the latest punch card technology. Two skilled document abstracters, several secretaries, and many keypunch operators provided the necessary support. Copies of articles were obtained quickly through interlibrary loans, often in less than a week. The pace of activities was far quicker than that of most contemporary graduate schools in which mimeographs, manual balance beam scales, and the occasional brass-tube microscope were still in evidence. It was difficult to imagine that life in a drug information department could get any better than this. Then, the pace of technological change accelerated. The following is a recounting of
Reprint address: Charles F. Curran, PhD, Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 13600 Shoreline Drive, St. Louis, MO 63045.
the major changes from the author’s experience of 30 years in and around drug information. In the last 30 years, we have witnessed spectacular technological advances. These have drastically altered the approaches taken in the storage, retrieval, evaluation, and distribution of drug information. The process of obtaining information has become more efficient and focused, and the time required in sending information has been greatly reduced. At the same time, both the nature of requests and the mix of requesters have changed. In this paper, the technology used in support of the drug information department in 1970 is described as a baseline for highlighting the major changes in the succeeding years. The collective impact of these changes is discussed.
THE SETTING IN 1WO By 1970, many basic technological advances originating immediately prior, during, or following World War I1 began to exert an influence on the drug information departments of pharmaceutical firms. A number of these
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