Top 200 Drug List Re: PTCE drug list

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Dear All,

You might also want to read what Amigo Boy 2000

posted in June of this month:

Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:58 pm Message #20238 of 20296

Posted by amigo_boy2000

I noticed DrugTopics released the 2010 Top-200 data today.

http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/Pharmacy+Facts+ & +Figures

I'm currently merging this data into the 2006-2009 Anki flashcard deck.[1] The

deck describes how this combining and re-ranking is better for memorization. I

won't describe it here.

It should be done in a day or two (Wednesday or Thursday). If anyone's

interested, they can check for it.

[1] Anki is a spaced-repetition flashcard system. To retrieve the deck, follow

these steps:

1. Download Anki at http://ankisrs.net/

2. After installing, use " File->Download->Shared Deck " and type " PTCB " in the

search field. You should see " Top-224 Prescribed Generic Drugs 2009-2005 "

.... 2a. Look for the " EXTRA CREDIT " deck too.

Note: That's the current name. It will change to something like 2010-2005 or

2010-2006. (I haven't decided whether to carry 5 or 6 years.).

3. Read the description if you're curious about how the combined data has been

improved for memorization.

4. Highlight and click OK to download.

Anki has a lot of flexibility and *power*. But, that also means it has more

learning curve than simpler (flatter) card systems. Overall, it's worth the

effort to orient yourself to it. It's based upon the same premise (spaced

repetition and the forgetting curve) as learning systems like Pimsleur. You

learn more by recalling information at certain intervals. (Not just flat

repetition.). There is an intro video at http://ankisrs.net/

Message #20238 of 20296 Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:58 pm posted by amigo_boy2000

> It should be done in a day or two (Wednesday or Thursday).

It's done now (Friday). It came out to 231 unique drug names over a six-year

period (2005-2010). To illustrate how this compares to a single year:

1. After distilling Drug Topics's Top-200 down to unique names (for example,

summing Metformin and Metformin ER into one entry) there are about 180 unique

names per year.

2. Each year has about 10 drug names that don't exist in the other five years.

Therefore, the resulting 6-year consolidation contains 231 drug names.

The result is more meaningful for memorization (no duplicates adding to the

workload), and less volatile (ranking smoothed to 6 years, more names that were

Top-200 at some point.).

Of potential interest: 2010's Top-200 contained the following seven drugs that

were not Top-200 in the prior six years (2004-2009):

- Fexofenadine/pseudo (Allegra D)

- Lansoprazole (Prevacid)

- Losartan (Cozaar)

- Losartan (HCTZ Hyzaar)

- Tamsulosin (Flomax)

- Pramipexole (Mirapex)

- Valacyclovir (Valtrex)

Likewise, 2004's Top-200 contained the following nine drugs that were not

Top-200 in the following six years (2005-2010):

- Acetaminophen (Tylenol, et. al.)

- Chlordiazepoxide w/clidinium (Librax)

- Ipratropium (Atrovent)

- Isosorbide dinitrate (Isordil Titradose, Dilatrate-SR, Isochron)

- Lactulose (Cholac, Duphalac, Enulose, Kristalose)

- Methimazole (Tapazole, Northyx)

- Moexipril (Univasc)

- Tretinoin (Retin-A, Vesanoid)

- Triazolam (Halcion)

These were placed in the " Extra Credit " flashcard deck because it seemed like a

seven-year deck would be excessive. (I.e., when 2011 is available next year,

I'll move drug names which were Top-200 only in 2005 into the " Extra Credit "

deck.).

The description for the six-year deck have been updated with information about

how to review cards more frequently in Anki. Anki is oriented toward

once-per-day reviews. The description links to a document explaining how to

configure Anki for more rapid/aggressive reviews. (That might be interesting to

people who already downloaded the prior deck.).

Once again, to use this flashcard deck:

1. Download Anki at http://ankisrs.net/

2. After installing, use " File->Download->Shared Deck " and type " PTCB " in the

search field. You should see " Top-231 Prescribed Generic Drugs 2010-2005 "

.... 2a. You should also see the " EXTRA CREDIT " deck.

3. Read the description for more background. Especially how to configure Anki

for rapid/aggressive review pace.

4. Highlight and click OK to download.

5. Anki has a lot of flexibility and *power*. It's based upon " spaced

repetition " -- a technique to show cards when the brain is expected to shed

memories (the " Forgetting Curve " ). Therefore, it can be more effort to start

using than a traditional *flat* card system. (However, it could be an investment

in the future. Once you learn how easy it is to memorize things you might choose

to learn a foreign language.). There is an intro video at http://ankisrs.net/

Hope this helps you!

Amigoboy put a lot of time and effort into this project.

I have not used it or checked it out. But a few of my students seemed to like

it.

Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS

Founder/Owner

> > >

> > > Hi all! I'm new here and getting ready for the PTCE. I have noticed many

many " top drug " lists. Any suggestions on which is/are the best to study for the

test? I know the tech lectures book has a list from 2007 -- how often does the

list on the test change? Thanks in advance!

> > >

> >

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