Web-based Education –
Introduction to the WHO Drug Dictionaries

  • Course Facts
  • Learning Objectives
  • Course outline

Our "Introduction to the WHO Drug Dictionaries 2.0" is a web-based course available to anyone who wants to learn more about how to fully benefit from these invaluable resources.

This on-line teaching module gives the user basic knowledge about the WHO Drug Dictionaries. Upon completion of the course each participant should fully understand the content and structure of the WHO Drug Dictionaries. Participants will be introduced to the basic coding concepts necessary to record data using WHO Drug Dictionaries as well as how coding affects data retrieval.

Course Facts

Upon completion of the course- after passing a "Final exam", the user receives a certificate.

Course Length - This module takes approximately 8 hours to complete. Note that this is an estimated time. Different people will learn at different rates, and explore resources and examples to different lengths.

Prerequisites - None

This web course is also preparatory for continued classroom training. 


Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course the user should:

  • understand what types of medicinal products are included in the dictionaries and consequently which co-medication verbatims are likely/unlikely to find a match in the dictionaries.
  • understand the differences between the three dictionaries provided by the UMC.
  • understand the benefits available in the WHO Herbal Dictionary, the need for coding herbal remedies, and the basics of herbal ATC.

The user should attain a basic understanding of Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification in order to:

  • understand how and why drugs are assigned ATC codes.
  • understand how to best use ATC in the coding process and provide input to the company's optimal use of coding resources.
  • understand how to use ATC classification when analyzing clinical data and how to identify protocol violations.

Upon completion of this course the user should have a basic understanding of the codes used in the dictionaries as well as the structure and various formats of the dictionaries in order to:

  • understand how to interpret the elements of a verbatim (name, name specifier, pharmaceutical form, etc), and understand where in the dictionary the corresponding information can be found.
  • understand the differences between the C format and the B format.
  • facilitate the investigation of omission lists.
  • understand how to code with highest possible precision (form, strength if available).
  • understand how the WHO Drug Dictionaries can be used for analysis.
  • understand how Standardized Drug Groupings may help when producing 'Medications of interest lists' - Inclusion/Exclusion criterias for medicinal products in clinical trial guidelines. 

Course outline

Introduction
A short background to the WHO Drug Dictionaries

Content
What medicinal products are to be found in the dictionaries?
What are the benefits of the WHO Drug Dictionary Enhanced?

Codes and ID's
How are codes used in the dictionaries?
How do I interpret information from the Drug Code?

Structure and Format
How are the dictionaries structured?
Why are there two formats and what are the differences between them?
Wow does the WHO Drug Dictionary Browser work?

Main Tables 
Presenting an overview of the most important tables

C format
Understanding the differences between the C format and the B format.

Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification
What is an ATC code?
How and why are ATC classifications integrated in the dictionaries?

Coding Co-medication
What is the general principle of coding verbatims found in CRF and ADR reports?
How do I deal with difficult verbatims?
How do I keep my dictionary up-to-date?
What is a 'non-unique name' and how do I select the correct entry?

Analysis
Database entries determine the quality of information that can later be extracted. Why is this important when coding concomitant medication?
How to use Standardized Drug Groupings when producing Inclusion/Exclusion criterias for medicinal products in clinical trial guidelines?

WHO Herbal Dictionary
Why is a Herbal Dictionary needed?
Using the St. John’s incident to illustrate the need of coding herbal co-medication.

Interested? Visit our web shop.

If you would like to have more information, please contact us at training@umc-products.com