Research Guides: AMA Citation Style 11th Edition Guide: Common Drug/Medical Databases

Citing Databases in AMA

Drug Information and Medical Resources General Information

General Database Format

Author/page title	Database	Publisher	Date/last update	Accessed	URL
Author AA.	Database Title.	Publisher Name;	2021.	Accessed Month day, Year	www.xx.xx
Page name	Database title [database online].	Publisher Name;	Updated April 30, 2021	Accessed Month day, year	www.xx.xx

General Notes:

When a database has a common name, include “[database online]” after its title to help the reader understand what you are citing. AMA uses square brackets for explanatory notes.
When listing URLs, provide the database’s primary URL (listed below for each database). Do not use the long URL that you see when accessing the database.
Some databases do not list authors. If no author is listed, start your citation with the name of the drug or page you are citing.
As of the 11th edition, AMA no longer recommends a location of the publisher in a citation

Medical/Drug Resource Examples in AMA

Examples:

1. Atorvastatin. Drugs. AccessPharmacy. McGraw-Hill Medical. Accessed June 11, 2020. http://accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com

2. Atorvastatin, Contraindications. Drugs. AccessMedicine. McGraw-Hill Medical. Accessed June 11, 2020. http://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com

Database Specific Notes

Use the drug name or page title for the information you are citing and the subpage with a comma (example 2)
List the section of AccessPharmacy or AccessMedicine you are citing, like "Drugs"
Cite books from AccessMedicine like an electronic book

Examples:

3. Evaluation of phage therapy for the treatment of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound infections in burned patients (PHAGOBURN). ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02116010. Updated July 23, 2015. Accessed October 13, 2016. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02116010

4. Rizzardini G. Clinical Study To Evaluate The Performance And Safety Of Favipiravir in COVID-19. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04336904. Updated April 8, 2020. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04336904

Database Specific Notes

Include the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier after the database name as shown in the examples
The format for citing ClinicalTrials.gov is a little different than the basic database format, so use the examples to format your citation

Examples:

5. Etodolac. Quick Answers. IBM Micromedex [database online]. Truven Health Analytics/IBM Watson Health; 2020. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com

6. Etodolac. In-Depth Answers. IBM Micromedex [database online]. Truven Health Analytics/IBM Watson Health; 2020. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com

7. Etodolac. Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference. IBM Micromedex [database online]. Truven Health Analytics/IBM Watson Health; 2020. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com

8. Active Ingredient: Etodolac. RED BOOK Online. IBM Micromedex [database online]. Truven Health Analytics/IBM Watson Health; 2020. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com

Database Specific Notes

Use the drug name (or page title) for the information you are citing.
Indicate the section or book that you are citing (e.g., Quick Answers, In-Depth Answers, Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference, and RED BOOK Online in the above examples).
Make sure to cite the latest publication or copyright date (2020 in the above examples). Look at the bottom of the monograph or page for a publication/update date; if none is listed go to the very bottom of the page and use the Micromedex copyright date listed.
Change the access date to the date you read the information.

Example:

9. Solomon DH. Nonselective NSAIDs: Adverse Cardiovascular Effects. UpToDate. UpToDate; 2020. Accessed June 11, 2020.

Database Specific Notes

Use the “topic” that you are citing as the title.
UpToDate is both the database and the publisher name, which is why it’s listed twice.
Since UpToDate is updated every four months, use the current year as the publication date (2020 in the above example).
UpToDate recommends using a different method of citing its topics, but the above method is consistent with the AMA Manual of Style, 11th ed., approach to citing databases.