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Healthcare Information—an Overview

USP provides authoritative, unbiased information relating to various aspects of drug quality and use to practitioners, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals worldwide to help them promote the proper use of medicines.

Pharmacy Information

USP released the first edition of the USP Pharmacists' Pharmacopeia in summer 2005. With this dedicated pharmacy reference, USP renews its commitment to serving the practicing and academic pharmacy communities through information that will ultimately help to deliver the best pharmaceutical care to patients. USP's evolving portfolio of pharmacy products and services includes educational programs and peer-reviewed articles. USP also seeks to actively involve the pharmacy community in the continuous development and revision of official monographs and guidelines for compounding, packaging, storage, and other aspects of pharmacy practice.

Medicare Model Guidelines

USP has developed—and will provide ongoing updates to—a drug classification system that plans offering the Medicare prescription drug benefit can use to develop their formularies. The classification system—referred to as the USP Medicare Model Guidelines—was initially submitted by USP to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in December 2004. USP's process for the development and ongoing updates to the Model Guidelines is a collaborative approach that provides opportunities for involvement from all interested stakeholders. The initiative was the result of a Congressional directive, which charged USP with this responsibility through the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003.

Worldwide Quality and Information Initiatives

USP helps to develop strategies to improve drug quality and the proper use of drugs in many developing countries of the world through the USP Drug Quality and Information Program supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. USP lends its expertise and assistance in strengthening drug quality assurance programs in these countries. It also provides technical leadership for regional and international cooperation in drug quality control. In addition USP provides continuing education programs for healthcare professionals in developing countries and helps to develop targeted drug information materials.

USP DI

From 1980 to 2004, USP developed a significant amount of drug information for practitioners and patients, including value-added and off-label information, through the USP Drug Information (USP DI) publications. The USP DI was published by Thomson Healthcare through December 2007. Beginning in January 2008, this product will no longer be published.