{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.027187934113911492, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0005953562214725144, 'mean_word_length': 5.28428927680798, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Introduction: drug information.

‘‘I had . . . come to an entirely erroneous conclusion, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data.’’ (Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band). In this statement to his friend and trusted assistant Dr John Watson, the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes emphasizes the consequence of relying on insufficient data for solving criminal cases. Despite the fact that these words were uttered by a fictional character, the concept conveyed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who incidentally was a physician, is far from being fiction and serves as a guiding principle for disciplines that are based on scientific methodology. The profession of pharmacy certainly fits this definition. For over 20 years, I have had the privilege of practicing pharmacy in a variety of settings including hospital, community, long-term care, and at a drug information (DI) center. I am fortunate that I was able to maintain a concurrent multisetting experience for quite a few years since each of these experiences contributed to my professional growth. I know that my experience is not unique and that many pharmacists ‘‘wear many different hats’’ throughout their professional lives. Notably, although I practiced pharmacy in each of these settings, clearly, the experiences differed one from another. Many responsibilities, policies, procedures, and regulations, not to mention the medications handled and dispensed, are specific to the practice setting. Thus, hospital pharmacy is not identical to community pharmacy, to long-term care pharmacy or to a dedicated DI service. Each of these settings requires a unique knowledge and skill set. However, despite the differences, there are certainly areas of commonality. One theme that is shared by most pharmacy practitioners, regardless of their practice setting, is the need to address clinical dilemmas. This process requires an understanding that the vast amount of facts available on pharmaceuticals makes it impossible for any practitioner to be thoroughly familiar with all the intricacies involving medications and the profession and thus seeking and using information is essential. Basing clinical decisions on insufficient data may, at times, prove to be dangerous. It is therefore important for all pharmacists to possess the knowledge and skills necessary for seeking, using, and applying information/data in an optimal manner. This issue of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice, dedicated to DI, will review some of these concepts. The article titled ‘‘Drug information – the systematic approach,’’ reviews the principles of the ‘‘systematic approach’’ to responding to DI queries, which for approximately 4 decades now, has served as a ‘‘standard’’ for the art of addressing DI needs. The article also provides a practical guide for the pharmacy practitioner which extends beyond the elements of the ‘‘systematic approach.’’ The article briefly discusses some of the information resources available for the pharmacist, one of which includes the World Wide Web. For over a decade now, the Internet has become a valuable and powerful resource in the practice of pharmacy and particularly DI. However, along with its benefits, the Internet does present its own challenges. The lack of a general control mechanism that ensures the credibility and accuracy of information available on the World Wide Web makes it essential for users to carefully select and evaluate Websites prior to utilizing health-related information presented therein. The article titled ‘‘Health and medication information resources on the World Wide Web’’ provides general principles to consider when evaluating such information. The article also reviews select freely accessible Websites that may be useful to many pharmacists, and to a lesser extent, sites that may be useful to consumers. The need to critically evaluate the literature is not limited to information available on the World Wide Web. In fact, interpreting, analyzing, and applying data found in reputable DI resources are the cornerstones of practicing evidence-based medicine (EBM). The article titled ‘‘Contemporary approaches for evidence-based pharmacotherapy’’ provides a guide on practicing EBM including, but not limited to information on finding and evaluating evidence and applying evidence to practice. One valuable and practical EBM tool available for the pharmacy practitioner is the clinical practice guideline. However, proper use of clinical practice guidelines can only be achieved if one fully understands the benefits and limitations that lie within the guidelines. The article titled ‘‘Primer on clinical practice guidelines’’ outlines the guideline development process and reviews concerns and advances in this field. Tools to access and evaluate guidelines are also provided. Finally, pharmacists may be under the impression that all medications marketed in the United States were reviewed and approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However,