Also called: Drugs · Medications
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Medicines
Medicines can treat diseases and improve your health. If you are like most people, you need to take medicine at some point in your life. You may need to take medicine every day, or you may only need to take medicine once in a while. Either way, you want to make sure that your medicines are safe, and that they will help you get better. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration is in charge of ensuring that your prescription and over-the-counter medicines are safe and effective.
There are always risks to taking medicines. It is important to think about these risks before you take a medicine. Even safe medicines can cause unwanted side effects or interactions with food, alcohol, or other medicines you may be taking. Some medicines may not be safe during pregnancy. To reduce the risk of reactions and make sure that you get better, it is important for you to take your medicines correctly. You should also be careful when giving medicines to children, since they can be more vulnerable to the effects of medicines.
It sits within Drug Therapy.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Medicines
26,391 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Chinese Medicine for Treating Chronic PharyngolaryngitisChinese University of Hong Kong
- A Study to Assess a New Medicine Called IPN01195 When Administered Alone in Adults With Advanced Solid TumoursIpsen
- A Study to Learn About the Study Medicine Ibuzatrelvir in Adults With COVID-19 Who Are Severely ImmunocompromisedPfizer
- Integrating Systematic Data of Medicine to Explore the Solution for Healthy Aging (ISDHA) Phase 4Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
- Early Metabolic Effects of Antiretroviral Drugs in Healthy volUnteers: a Phase 2 Randomized StudyNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- Trastuzumab Deruxtecan (T-DXd) With or Without Pertuzumab Versus Taxane, Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab in HER2-positive Metastatic Breast Cancer (DESTINY-Breast09)AstraZeneca
Research already completed
- mHealth to Enhance & Sustain Drug Use Reduction of the QUIT BI in Primary CareUniversity of California, Los Angeles
- A Study to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of Baxdrostat in Participants With Uncontrolled Hypertension on Two or More Medications Including Participants With Resistant HypertensionAstraZeneca
- The Effect of Pecha-Kucha Method Training on the Knowledge and Skills of Nurses Regarding Anticoagulant Drug AdministrationIstanbul Saglik Bilimleri University
- Short-Term Symptom Changes in Adults With Teeth Clenching or Grinding and Jaw Symptoms Receiving Splint, Botulinum Toxin, or Medication Plus Splint CareRecep Tayyip Erdogan University
- A Phase 1 Study to Assess the Effect of ABBV-722 on Ethinyl Estradiol and Levonorgestrel Drug Levels in Healthy Adult Female ParticipantsAbbVie
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Drugs@FDA: FDA-Approved DrugsFood and Drug Administration
- How to Take Your MedicationAmerican Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
- Information for Consumers and Patients (Drugs)Food and Drug Administration
- Managing Your MedicinesAmerican Diabetes Association
- MedlinePlus: Drugs, Herbs, and SupplementsNational Library of Medicine
- Think It Through: Managing the Benefits and Risks of MedicinesFood and Drug Administration
Diagnosis and Tests
- Pharmacogenetic TestsNational Library of Medicine
- Pharmacogenetics: How Genetic Testing Can Guide Medicine DecisionsNemours Foundation
- Therapeutic Drug MonitoringNational Library of Medicine
Related Issues
- AdherenceAmerican Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
- Biosimilar and Interchangeable Biologics: More Treatment ChoicesFood and Drug Administration
- Choose How You Get Drug CoverageCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Cost of MedicationsAmerican Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
- Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should KnowFood and Drug Administration
- Generic Drugs: Questions and AnswersFood and Drug Administration
- Herbal Supplements and Heart Medicines May Not MixMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Mental Health Side EffectsAmerican Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
- Mixing Medications and Dietary Supplements Can Endanger Your HealthFood and Drug Administration
- Some Medicines and Driving Don't MixFood and Drug Administration
- Suicide Warnings on MedicationsAmerican Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
- Technology to Help You Remember to Take Medications: Automatic Pill DispensersAmerican Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
Statistics and Research
- FastStats: Therapeutic Drug UseNational Center for Health Statistics
- How Do Medicines Work?National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver InjuryNational Library of Medicine
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Pharmaceutical Preparations. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Medicines, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.