Help

The search box has a drop down list containing:

• medicine names - brand names and active ingredients (generic names)
• pharmaceutical companies that have information published on the eMC website.

Type in the first few letters of a company or medicine name, wait a moment and a drop down list displays any matches. Click a word in the list to add it to the search box and then click search or press the return key to start the search.

The drop down list only includes medicines and companies with information published on the eMC website. If the medicine or company is not listed, the company might be updating the information, or they have chosen not to publish this information on the eMC website. You should contact the company directly.

You can override the search list and type in any words you choose. For example, you can type in:

• chloramphenicol eye drops
• paracetamol tablets
• SVT - to find tablets with particular markings

Depending on your choice of word, you may need to search the full document to find results.

You can pick your first search word from the drop down list and then place your cursor into the search box and type in your additional search words.

Use the tick boxes under the search box to select where the eMC searches for your words.

• Search medicine or company name - only find results where your search word(s) are listed in the medicine trade name, active ingredient/generic name or the company name.
• Search full document - find results where your search word(s) are anywhere in the full document text (except PDF format Patient Information Leaflets).

The advanced search page is divided into three sections. The first section allows you to search for words or phrases. The second section allows you to refine your search results or just search for medicines from a company, with a certain legal category or that are being discontinued. The third section allows you to decide how to display the results. For example:

• Use the first box to just find words or phrases in a document.
• Use the first box to find words or phrases and the second box to restrict the results to a company, legal category or discontinuation.
• Only use the second box to find medicines sold by a certain company.
• Only use the second box to find medicines with your chosen legal category.
• Only use the second box to find medicines on the eMC that are being discontinued.

Search by section lets you search for words or phrases that are present or absent in one or more sections of the SPC. Search by section will answer this type of question.

• Are there any paracetamol tablets that do not contain lactose?
• Which drugs are licensed to treat rheumatoid arthritis?
• Are there any treatments for hypertension (high blood pressure) that do not cause a particular side effect?

For example, this search would find paracetamol preparations that do not contain lactose or talc.

To search by section, firstly use the drop down list to choose the section of the SPC you want to search. If you are not sure which section to search, read our SPC guide in the glossary. Then, choose either contains (the word or phrase is in the SPC section) or does not contain (the word or phrase is not in the SPC section). Type in your search word or words. Click Add and repeat the steps to build your search. Then click search. You can edit or delete a search entry if you need to.

Each SPC section can only be selected once. Multiple search terms can be added for each search section and can be combined with and, or, not.

Search by section does not search for synonyms and so searching for heart will not find cardiac. You might need to type in synonyms to cover all the options. For example heart or cardiac. However matching word stems are automatically found. For example typing in tablet will find tablets. Cap will find capsule, caplet etc.

This section allows you to find products with one or more legal categories. A description of the categories is given in the on screen tool tip and in the glossary.

This section allows you to find products using their unique document identity number. The document ID is included in the link properties of each document. Hover your mouse over the product name hyperlink and then click the right mouse button. Click on the option called 'Properties'. A document address (URL) is shown emc.medicines.org.uk/medicine/20802/... The number highlighted in bold is the document ID number

This section allows you to see all the medicines that are published on the eMC which are being discontinued. We rely on pharmaceutical companies telling us this information and cannot guarantee that it is comprehensive. Companies retire (remove) SPCs and PILs from the eMC once all the stocks have been used. This search will not show previously discontinued medicines.

This section allows you to search for a company that has SPCs or PILs published on the eMC website. The results show the number of PILs and SPCs a company has published on the eMC.

If you want to search for an exact phrase, add double quotation marks around the phrase, for example "rheumatoid arthritis". This search will only find documents where the words are next to each other and there is an exact word match.

If you type several words into the search box, for example rheumatoid arthritis, the search finds documents that contain both the words and so searches for rheumatoid and arthritis. The words may not be next to each other in the document. There is no need to link the words together with the word and.

The word order does not affect the results. Eye drops will find the same results as drops eye.

You can combine your search words using and, or, not. For example:

• Typing in rheumatoid and arthritis will find documents that contain both the words rheumatoid and arthritis.
• Typing in rheumatoid and arthritis and tablet will find documents that contain all three words rheumatoid, arthritis and tablet. Do not use & to combine search words.
• Typing in rheumatoid or arthritis will find documents that contain either the word rheumatoid or the word arthritis.
• Typing in rheumatoid not arthritis will find documents that contain the word rheumatoid but not the word arthritis.

When you type in a word we automatically search for this word, plus any other words in a document that start with this word stem. For example if you search for pain, we also find documents containing the words painful, painfully and painkiller.

If you do not want to search for other word stems, add double quotation marks around the word, for example "pain".

The eMC is not case sensitive and so searching for paracetamol and PARACETAMOL will find the same results.

The eMC will search for your words in the order you type them running from left to right. If you place brackets around search words, the eMC will search for these first and will then search for other words. For example:

• Typing in X or Y and Z. The eMC will firstly search for documents containing X or Y. It will then combine these search results to find any documents that also contain the word Z.
• Typing in X or (Y and Z). The eMC will firstly search for documents that contain Y and Z. It will then search for documents that also contain the word X.
• Typing in (W and X) or (Y and Z). The eMC will firstly search for documents that contain W and X and then search for documents that contain Y and Z. It will then combine the two searches together.