[Use of different drug form identification systems].
Since the foundation of the Department of Clinical Toxicology one of the unsolved problems is the identification of drugs which are often brought by the emergency service together with the patient. This problem is known to the personnel of Poison Centers and all first-contact physicians who deal with the patient at home or at the place of accident. Many years of observations and experiences allowed for creating Polish system of drugs identification based mainly on the catalogue containing data to be used in identification of an unknown form of a drug. The next step was to create a computer database system allowing for fast and accurate identification of drug forms. Created catalogue contains drug forms categorized by color and shape. The solution is constructed in a way that adding new and extending existing data is possible. The catalogue can be used in drug stores, by emergency services, family doctors and specifically in pediatrics since children are often exposed to the danger of unknown drug intake. The useful option is the color printout which can be obtained from the system. Search procedures enable setting range of criteria and, after initial list is produced, detailed search is possible with the color images on screen. The system was created using MS Access database. Department of Toxicology is the owner of the copyrights.