Knowledge and Library Services: Pharmacy: Finding pharmacy literature

NHS Knowledge and Library Hub

The NHS Knowledge and Library Hub is the simplest way to find books, e-books, articles and much more. It is the best place to start your search.

If you are unsure how to conduct an effective literature search, contact us for 1:1 or group training on using databases or critically appraising literature. Alternatively, you can consult our online literature searching guide for self-directed learning resources.

Key Pharmacy Databases

If you don't find what you need in the Knowledge Hub, try searching one of the databases below.

You have access to the following databases either via your OpenAthens account or freely online.

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MEDLINE® (Ovid) This link opens in a new window
Ovid MEDLINE® covers the international literature on biomedicine, including the allied health fields and the biological and physical sciences, humanities, and information science as they relate to medicine and health care. Information is indexed from approximately 5,600 journals published world-wide.
Coverage: 1946 - present
Access: NHS OpenAthens account
EMBASE (Ovid) 1974 to present This link opens in a new window
Embase (Excerpta Medica Database) is a biomedical and pharmacological database containing more than 30 million records including articles from more than 8,500 journals. It is especially strong in its coverage of drug and pharmaceutical research, pharmacology and toxicology.
Access: NHS OpenAthens account
Pubmed This link opens in a new window
Scope: Medical and Surgical
Access: Open access
UpToDate Lexidrug This link opens in a new window
UpToDate Lexidrug provides point-of-care clinical information for the healthcare industry. Primarily focused on Pharmacotherapy, our knowledge areas include drug information, interactions, laboratory tests/diagnostic procedures, diagnostic medicine. App available to Barts users. Access: NHS OpenAthens account

Want to find more? See our full list of available databases on our Database A-Z page.