Situations where oral medication identification is used:
(1) attempted suicide by taking one or more varieties of pills
(2) death investigation
(3) criminal seizure of drugs
(4) accidental drug overdose
(5) patient found unconscious with medications not in pill containers
Data items to collect::
(1) type (pill, gelatin capsule, caplet, softgel, other)
(2) shape (spherical, round, ovoid, triangular, other)
(3) dimensions in mm (longest, second, shortest)
(4) color(s): number and type
(5) complete word
(6) nonword letters
(7) number
(8) icon or symbol
(9) other feature (pattern, etc)
(10) weight in miilligrams
Special problems in identification:
(1) foreign medications (may not be in database)
(2) illegal drugs from clandestine laboratory
(3) formulations for non-oral administration (suppositories, other)
