Drug Browser

In the Drug Browser, you can browse product information from the MIMS Pharmaceutical database.

Note: An annual licence fee applies for the use of the MIMS Australia Pharmaceutical Database. The MIMS database is updated monthly and can be downloaded from the Communicare website. For more information, see MIMS Database Import.
Drugs listed in the Drug Browser are colour-coded:
  • Olive shows extemporaneous preparations User Defined - extemporaneous preparations (drug recipes). See Extemporaneous Preparations (Drug Recipes) for more details.
  • Crimson shows authority drugs Authority - a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescription for these drugs requires prior approval from the Department of Human Services. A Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescription (RPBS) for these drugs requires prior approval from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA). The approval number must be included in the prescription.
  • Brown shows streamlined authority drugs Streamlined Authority - a PBS or RPBS prescription for these drugs requires the prescriber to select a streamlined authority code from the approved indications listed for the drug. This code must be included in the prescription.
  • Blue shows section 100 drugs Section 100 - items available under special arrangement. See http://www.pbs.gov.au/browse/section100 for more details.
  • Black shows PBS & RPBS drugs PBS/RPBS - PBS or RPBS prescriptions can be made for these drugs: they are listed on both the PBS and RPBS schedules.
  • Purple shows RPBS drugs only RPBS Only - RPBS prescriptions can be made for these drugs as they are listed on the RPBS schedule.
    Tip: Any drug which is not included in the RPBS schedule can still be prescribed under RPBS, but requires prior approval from the DVA. The approval number must be included in the prescription and Unlisted RPBS Authority must be set.
  • Green shows other, private drugs Others - drugs that do not belong to any of the above categories. They can only be prescribed privately.
Tip: Some drugs belong to more than one category. For example, a Section 100 drug may also be Streamlined Authority drug. The drug is assigned the colour of the highest ranking category, as dictated by the order above, that is, User Defined is the highest category and Others is the lowest.

Selecting a drug

To browse all product information from the MIMS database in the Drug Browser, in the main toolbar click MIMS. Alternatively, the Drug Browser is displayed when you add medications to a patient's clinical record, allowing you to select a product to prescribe.

You can either search for a specific drug or select a grouping and browse the drug database by that grouping. Choose from:
Drug browser groupings
  • Product section
  • Therapeutic class
  • Manufacturer
Tip: When you add a medication, the list of drugs displayed in the Drug Browser may be limited by your formulary rights.
To search for a specific drug:
  1. If the drug is in your favourites, set List favorites.
  2. To search for a drug based on brand name and generic name, in the Product field, enter at least three characters. For example, type ASP displays a list of all products with a brand name starting with ASP and all products with a generic name starting with ASP.
  3. To see active ingredient, generic names instead of the brand names, set Show generics not brands.
    Note: If you show generics and view the product information, only one of the brands is displayed if there are multiple brands with the same generic components, strength and pack size.
  4. Click the drug you are interested in. To display further information about the drug:
    • To display the Product Information window with full MIMS details for the selected drug, click Drug product information button.
    • To display the Consumer Medicines Information window with full MIMS details for the selected drug, click Consumer medicines information button.
  5. To select the required drug, double-click it.

If you are adding a medication, the selected drug is displayed in the Add Medication window.

If you are browsing drugs, the Product Information window is displayed.

Extemporaneous Preparations (User Defined Drug Recipes)

To display any previously defined extemporaneous preparations (drug recipes), either:
  • In the section group, select Extemporaneous Preparations
  • In the manufacturer group, select Extemporaneous Preparations (User Defined)
See Extemporaneous Preparations (Drug Recipes) for more details.