By FDA regulation, every prescription, narcotic, over-the-counter, veterinary and homeopathic medicine and a growing number of tablets, capsules, and softgels in these categories must bear a mark or emboss with which its identity can be made. These identifying marks are collectively known among drug information professionals as imprints. The FDA has mandated the markings but made no provision for cataloging imprints nor searching catalogs for them.
There have been many pill identification databases developed since the first one was introduced in 1974. The early databases consisted of a collection of the alphanumeric information and physical characteristics. Searches are made by an unsophisticated string search.
Others have photographs in books. These resources are not complete, are time consuming to find a pill, and are out of date the same day they were printed. Due to space limitation, and availability, the number of images of pills is necessarily incomplete. In addition, whether the database is in print or the latest online, the sad fact is that the pictures are not searchable. Today, with more than 20,000 imprints in the U.S. market, finding a single picture out of thousands is a daunting task.
Computer, and later web based databases, cataloged only alphanumeric information as well as color, shape and scoring. All competitive databases fail to catalog any logo graphics that may be part of the imprint. The search mechanisms often consist of a simple match of the alphanumeric information, along with other descriptors like the color, shape and scoring. Any logo graphic is simply discarded in any competitive database.
A search of this type often results in dozens, sometimes over one hundred, potential matches and the user must pick the final choice by finding the closest match. Even when the final choice is made, the imprint information is often incomplete because no logo graphic information is included on the results screen. This leaves the user wondering if he has identified his pill or not.
Because doubt in selecting the imprint exists, the best tablet and capsule imprint database recognizes that mistakes can be easily made when allowing the user to make the final choice when all the imprint features may not be present.
The pill identification database makers have continued to tweak flawed methodology for incremental improvements in the state of the solid dosage form identification art. But they failed to come up with a good solution to this problem. Consequently, any attempt to make an identification with competitive databases are neither simple nor definitive.
It was clear a new paradigm is what was needed.
Drug Identity Information first identified three recurring problems in the drug identification field:
1. Having to choose from a list of products where the user must make the ultimate choice, consequently taking the risk of being wrong.
2. Not having all the information in the imprint displayed to confirm the choice made is accurate.
3. Unavailability of an ID due to incomplete databases.
To solve the problems, solutions were first defined:
To positively and specifically declare the ID, each search of an imprint database must lead to a unique solution.
To establish that the ID is accurate, all the information of the imprint must be recorded and displayed as confirmation.
To achieve certainty in making an identification (ID), the database must be all-inclusive.
These three criteria were used to set goals that would distinguish the Pill ID .com system from other providers of information in the field. The first goal is achieved by the implementation of our patent pending process that sets the rules by which both the imprint is cataloged and the user ultimately makes the ID. This means that a pill identification done on www.pillid.com guides the user to a definitive end result in every case.
The patented pill identification system is currently available at http://www.drugid.info
Pill Identification
