This document provides information on drug information services. It defines drug information as current and critically examined data about drugs and their use for patients or situations. It discusses the history of drug information centers, noting the first was established in 1960 in the US. It outlines the need for such services due to the increasing number and complexity of drugs. The aims of drug information include optimizing decision making and developing guidelines. Sources of drug information are described, and skills, staffing, and operations of drug information centers are covered. The document concludes with examples of common drug information questions.

1. DRUG INFORMATION

2. Submitted by
P. Vara lakshmi
PharmD 4th yr
Nalanda institute of pharmaceutical sciences

3. Objectives
• Drug information
definition
• history
• need
• AIMs
• sources
• Skills
• staffing
• Centre
• Questions
• Bulletin

4. Definition :
Drug information is the current relevant
critically examine data about drug and drug used for
given patient or situation.
Many institutes Run drug information Centre for the
provision of drug information to every group and kind
of people from any place.
History -
• First drug information Centre was developed in
University of Kentucky in 1960 in United States
80% of the hospitals having drug information
centre

5. • In IndiaIt is in infancy state with a few centres.
• CMC and Hospital Vellore has been trying in this
direction earlier.
NEED :
The number of drugs in the international
market has increased very much and the newer
drugs are generally more potent and selective and
formulations becoming increasingly complex.
The literature on drugs has also expanded and
covers a wide range of Information and to introduce
a new drug into the practice the professionals need
to evaluate the given information

6. Aims and objectives of drug
information services :
• The provision of information to health
professionals on specific problems
related to the use of drug in particular
patients
• The provision of information to officials
and government Agencies to optimise the
decision-making process
• The preparation and development of
guidelines and formularies
• To improve patient compliance and to
provide a guide to responsible self
medication

7. • To develop and participate in continuing education
programs
• To participate in undergraduate and graduate teaching
programs
• To develop educational activities regarding the
appropriate use of drugs for patients in the community
• to prepare and distribute material on drugs to health
personnel in the form of a drug Information Bulletin or
other media
• To develop and participate in research programme.

8. The sources of information and resources
available :
1. Primary source - information is presented by others without
any evaluation by second party and provides must current
information about drugs. For example articles published by
journals.
2. Secondary source - the original source has been evaluated
by S party other than the publisher and modified and
rearranged form for example review articles
3. Tertiary source - information obtained from primary and
secondary sources are arranged in a manner to represent a
complete of the available information . For example
representative form pharmacopoeias encyclopaedias and
dictionaries.

9. Other resources -
• The drug information Centre also receives information
from
1. The public and hospitals about the adverse effects of
any drug
2. Local drug list
3. National formularies
4. Hospital formulary
5. Internet
6. Phone calls to manufacturers
7. Government and non government organisations
8. And also to other drug information centres

10. Drug information skills :
• Drug information should understand the nature of the
question and should ask all the needed questions to get
the ultimate question.
• Most specialist today use the modified systemic approach
designed by host in krikwood . These are :
Step 1 : secure demographic of the requistors
• Who request
• Medical or non medical personnel
• Name and location and phone and email of the requester
• This determines the type of response that will be given

11. Step 2. obtain background information
• Where the requester heard or read about the
drug
• Is he or she taking medicine and why
• this helps determine meaning about additional
information should be provided
Step 3 determine and categorise the ultimate
question
• Putting the pieces of information together to
form ultimate question and once it has been
determined the next step is categorise the
question

12. Step 4 : develop and strategy and conduct research :
• Strategy should be developed with a typical algorithm with
three with essential components treasury secondary
primary literature.
Step 5 : perform evaluation analysis and synthesis :
• Provided sheet take time to evaluate the information
analysis and then synthesise it into a good reply.
Step 6 formulate and provide response :
• an outline should be established to help formulae and
response to the drug information request and it is important
to have introduction body and conclusion .

13. Step 7 conduct follow up and documentation :
• Checking with the requested to make sure his or
her question has been sufficiently and completely
answer and off white response is to document all
the steps taken in the process.
Drug literature evaluation :
Among the skills of drug information is a
knowledge of drug literature evaluation with Shallow
want to provide a critical analysis of the Literature
and have a better understanding of the studies done
in health and medicine

14. • It is a key component to provide a good quality answer
to the requester
• Being able to separate good data from poor data is
essential and knowing the limitations of any study can
help in evaluating the usability of its data
• Drug information specialist will often used some
standard questions to help in this process and several
references provide guidance to evaluate the medical
and pharmacy literature.
General guidelines for responses to drug information
• Do not guess
• Take several ethical issues into account like patient
privacy must be maintained

15. • Patient physician relation cannot be recharged response is
not necessary is the enquirer intends to misuse or abuse
the information that is provided.
• Organise information before attempting to communicate
the response to the enquiry Taylor the response to the
enquiry is background and tell the inquirer where the
information was found.
• Alert the enquiry of a possible delay when it takes longer
than anticipated to answer the question
• Ask if the enquiries question is answered by the
information.

16. Drug information centre :
Drug information centres
is generally our service providers
which provide drug information
relating to therapies
pharmacoeconomics education and
research programs.
• It provides unbiased information to
health care professionals and
patients and consumers
• Many centres also provide
workshops or other forms of
training to enhance the skills of the
Healthcare professionals.

17. Staffing :
• Pharmacist specialist with proper knowledge of drug and
actions associated with its and with academic degree
• Pharmacy technician and students
• People Trained in library science with computer knowledge.
• The centre should have specific hours of operation and
adequate technical resources
• The drug information Centre should have latest publications
and ideally publishing newsletter or other information about
dates .
Role of pharmacist : must be a part of drug information Centre
should be ready to go for information all the time.

18. • The drug information pharmacist is it into fees of West
amount of knowledge on inside and the persons meeting
the knowledge on the other
• Should provide proper information irrespective of the
informal status but accordingly with the informal status.
Drug Information Bulletin :
• It publishes the latest development in the Medical Services
the newly introduced drugs new indication and other
information regarding drugs
• the methods employed to discriminate inter-departmental
information are usually bulletins bulletin board notices and
committee meetings.
• Pharmacist is normally held responsible for its Publication
however contributions are obtained from pharmacist

19. Physicians and nursing and other interested groups
like therapeutic dietitian for food drug interactions for
publishing the bulletin.
• The contents should however be educated and
informative.

20. Drug information questions can be broken down
into the following elements
• Nomenclature and identification
• Therapeutic usage
• Adverse effects
• Business and economics
• Governmental regulation

21. Nomenclature and identification
• Identify the name of a drug
• Finding synonyms names and Code for a drug
• Determining the chemical composition and physical
properties of a drug
• Identifying other drugs that causes a similar chemical
structure or mode of action.

22. Therapeutic usage :
Discovering how a drug works to achieve its therapeutic
activity
Finding the recommended dosage and route of
administration of a drug and learning how a drug is absorbed
distributed metabolized and excreted

23. Adverse effects :
• Side effects
• Interactions like drug drug and drug food and drug herb
• Toxic potential
• Contraindications
• Teratogenecity
Business and economics :
• Drug prices
• Drug sales
• Drug manufacturers and drug stores
• Most commonly prescribed drugs

24. Government regulation :
1. Drug approval process
2. Identifying which countries have approved the usage of specific drug
3. The restriction of prohibition of the usage of specific drugs
4. Policies and codes regulating the manufacture distribution and sales
of Pharmaceutical agents .

25. Drug information questionnaire
Question 1 :
What medication is recommended for the initial management of
fibromyalgia syndrome ?
Category of question
Therapeutic management and Recommendation and guidelines
Possible resources
Up-to-date and evidence based medicine guidelines
Possible website - guidelines.gov,tripdatabase.com

26. Question 2
What is the dose of of chromium Bromide for a
patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease ?
Category of question - dosing
Possible resources - dosing information
handbook and handbook of clinical drugs data
Possible website - lexi-comp,micromedex

27. REFERENCES :
1. G.Parthasaradhi ,karin nyfort - hanseen , milap , CNahata , a text book of clinical
pharmacy practice . Essential concepts and skills
second edition
chapter 19.
2. http://www.slideshare.net/thushara 1993 / drug information and poison
information ?
3.Answering drug information questions
https:///www.slideserve.com/patman/answering-drug information questions#.

28. THANK YOU