Expectations of Health Care Professionals Regarding the Services
-
Somayeh Hanafi
,
Hassan Torkamandi
,
Mania Radfar
,
Alireza Hayatshahi
,
Sara Alahyari
,
Nikinaz Ashrafi-Shahmirzadi
,
Kheirollah Gholami
,
Mohammad Reza Javadi
Abstract
Background: The provision of accurate and timely drug information to health care professionals is an important mechanism to promote safe and effective drug therapy for patients. World’s Drug and Poison Information Centers (DPICs) are mainly affiliated to hospitals, rather rarely with faculties of pharmacy or with faculties of medicine and other related organizations.
Methods: Data was collected from a questionnaire which was distributed among 400 health care providers in April 2009. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 17).
Results: Medical reference books and drug information textbooks (36.7%) and expert colleagues (29.7%) were the “most commonly” used drug information resources. In addition, 77.8% of respondents “almost never” use DPICs. About 77% of respondents were non- acquainted with these centers’ activities. Five expectations were considered ‘very important’ by respondents: Provide information on IV drugs incompatibilities (74%), Provide drug interaction information (70.1%), Provide new drugs information (56.5%), Education/training of health care professionals regarding rational drug therapy and prevention of medication errors (54.9%), Providing information on dosage forms of drugs available in Iran (53.5%).
Conclusion: Being non acquaintance with services of DPIC centers can be considered as the most important reason of not using them. Considering “announcement of availability of drugs in pharmacy” as one of the activities of DPICs, shows that the health care professionals are not acquainted with real services of these centers. It shows an urgent need for culture building activities to introduce them to these centers services.
Rheney CC, Byerly WG, Connelly JF. North Carolina physician access to drug information resources. Drug Inf J 2000; 34: 69-73.
Hunashal R, Kudagi BL, Kamadod MA, Biradar SS. Drug Information Center. The Internet Journal of Medical Informatics 2008; volume 4, number1.
Lakshmi PK, Gundu Rao DA, Gore SB, et al. Drug Information Services to Doctors of Karnataka, India. Indian J Pharmacol 2003; 35: 245- 7.
Mullerova H, Vlcek J. European drug information centers- survey of activities. Pharm World Sci 1998; 20 (3): 131-5.
Nikfar S, Abdollahi M, Chraghali A. Going from strength to strength- Iran’s Drug and Poison Information Service. Essential Drugs Monitor 2000; 28 &29: 30, 31.
Dominguez KD, Gupchup GV, Benson BE. A Survey of the Expectations of New Mexico Emergency Physicians Regarding the Services of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center. Clin Toxicol 2000; 38(3): 309- 19.
Lim LY, Chui WK. Pharmacist-operated drug information centers in Singapore. J Clin Pharm Ther 1999; 24: 33-42.
Ponampalam R, Anantharaman V. The Need for Drug and Poison Information- The Singapore Physicians’ Perspective. Singapore Med J 2003; 44(5): 231- 242.
Hall V, Gomez C, Fernandez-Llimos F. Situation of drug information centers and services in Costa Rica. Pharmacy Practice 2006; 4(2): 83-7.
Pradhan SC. The performance of drug information center at the university of Kansas medical center, Kansas City, USA- experienced and evaluations. Indian J Pharmacol 2002; 34: 123-9.
Scala D, Bracco A, Cozzolino S, et al. Italian drug information centers: benchmark report. Pharm World Sci 2001; 23(6): 217-23.
Asiri YA, Al-Arifi MN, Al-Sultan MS, et al. Evaluation of drug and poison information center in Saudi Arabia during the period 2000-2002. Saudi Med J 2007; 28(4): 477-9.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 1، No 3 (Summer 2013) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Drug and Poison Information Center DPIC Teaching Hospital Expectations Health Care Professionals | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
