Find health and medical information from books, journal databases and reputable online resources at State Library Victoria.
What is CMI?
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are required by Australian law to produce CMI leaflets for all prescription products available in Australia. These may come with the product, or else may be available via the dispensing pharmacist. Several websites provide easy access to the CMI's, as well as other information related to pharmaceutical products, including over-the-counter and complementary products.
NPS - MedicineWise
An Australian Government funded, not-for-profit organisation. NPS links to the CMI's, but also provides information for both consumers, and health professionals on many issues to do with medications, prescribing, regulations, research, and more.
The following are only available within the State Library of Victoria building, as well as some academic or public libraries.
The MIMS annual
The MIMS annual (hardcopy) provides much more comprehensive information than the freely available CMI's. It includes technical information, such as the chemical structure of the substance, and its pharmacology, as well as every reported adverse effect, and more. It is used by many GP's when prescribing. An online version, eMims, is also accessible - see below.
Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines - Guidelines Portal
Clinical practice guidelines are ‘systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific circumstances’ (Field and Lohr, 1992 ). Search by several parameters, including: condition; life stage; publication year, etc.
This free resource is from the National Institute for Clinical Studies (NCIS), a NHMRC funded agency.
eMIMS
Available within the State Library of Victoria, and externally to Victorian registered patrons. eMIMS is the web version of the print version of MIMS pharmaceutical product information. It contains both abbreviated and full prescribing information, consumer medicine information and product images for pharmaceuticals available in Australia. eMims is greatly enhanced from the paper edition by having full search capabilities on either a single value or across multiple or advanced search criteria. It also allows browsing of the product information by Therapeutic Class, Generic or Brand.
Australian prescriber
Free online journal (also available in print). Articles on issues to do with drugs and therapeutics. Published by NPS MedicineWise
