Canadian Pill Identifier can help you:

identify a pill

identify a capsule

find description of a drug by name, ingredient or DIN

take online generic drugs quiz


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About Canadian Pill Identifier

As you know, in recent years a lot of generics were introduced on the Canadian market. As a result, the identification of thousands of different pills can be a very challenging task, even if you have a good memory. Therefore, we created this website in hopes it would help all Canadian healthcare professionals to learn about drugs commercially available in Canada and their appearance. The information found on this website is based on two databases:

1. The exact copy of Health Canada Drug Product Database

It contains precise information about product names, active ingredients, strength (mg, %), manufacturer name, etc. This database is updated monthly. Unlike the official version, our website allows for a much more extensive search and, in our opinion, is more convenient to use.

2. A unique database containing text description of pills

The information in this database includes the description of tablets and capsules, such as:

  • imprint (including logo),
  • color,
  • shape,
  • surface,
  • score type, etc.

In order to create this database, we meticulously described individual pills themselves or their photos.

This approach allowed us to create a database with redundant details which are often omitted in the product monographs, such as surface type (flat, biconvex), score type (single, interrupted, cross), relative position of imprints (one above, near or inside the other).

Note that sometimes the description in this database is not the same as in the product monograph, particularly when it comes to a pill's shape. For example, on this website the elongated pills where opposite sides are not parallel are called "oval". In the monograph the same pill can be described as "ovaloid", "capsule-shaped", "caplet", "ellipsoidal" or "oblong".

The database contains mainly the description of pills that are dispensed in bulk (in vials). So, for example, the text descriptions of orally-disintegrating tablets or birth control pills are quite rare on this site since they are always dispensed in the original packaging.

Although we put all our efforts in keeping the information on this site accurate and up-to-date, unfortunately, there's a small chance of error in description. The most common reason is that the appearance of the drug may have been changed by the manufacturer.

If you find any errors in pill descriptions, we strongly encourage you to report it by following the link "Report an error" near the description.