The Medicines Information Centre (MIC) is a Drug Information Service for Health Professionals provided by specially trained pharmacists. It is an independent organisation situated in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences. This service is limited to health professionals only.
The MIC is dedicated to providing unbiased, up-to-date and well-researched drug information, in consultation with a multidisciplinary healthcare team. To ensure this, we have access to the latest information databases as well as to consultants from the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Groote Schuur Hospital. In order to sustain a service of the highest standard, complicated queries are discussed at regular peer review meetings.
The services we offer
Drug Information in Response to Queries from Health Professionals
The Medicines Information Centre provides information on telephonic, faxed or e-mailed queries relating to:
- Drug Therapy
- Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation
- Malaria Prophylaxis and Treatment
- Drugs in Porphyria
- Adverse Drug Reactions
- Pharmaceutics
- Pharmacology
- Availability of South African and overseas medicines
- Drug Interactions
- Psychopharmacology
- Pharmacokinetics
Teaching and Education
- Education of health care professionals by dissemination of monthly newsletters via e-mail and on the website
- Presentation of Clinical Pharmacology and Applied Therapeutics lectures and seminars
- Teaching of pharmacist interns and pharmacy and medical students in the provision of drug information
Fee for Service Activities
- Reports and literature searches: expert reports and literature searches (hourly rate)
- Training: training courses in drug information which are tailored to the needs of the person(s) being tutored
Users of our Services
The Medicines Information Centre provides drug information to:
- Health Professionals
- The Pharmaceutical Industry
- The Medicines Control Council
- Public and Private Health Policy Makers
- Medical Aid Schemes and Managed Health Care Companies
- Academic Health Departments
- Private and Public Hospital Administrators
Available Resources
The Medicines Information Centre is dedicated to providing unbiased, up-to-date and well researched drug information. To ensure this we use:
- Latest editions of reference books
- National and international medical and pharmaceutical journals
- Online references – Micromedex, UpToDate, Brigg's Drugs in Pregnancy etc.
- Medline
- The Cochrane Library
- Package Inserts
- Pharmaceutical Industry
- Consultants from the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Groote Schuur Hospital
- Peer review and clinical meetings