DRUGS INFORMATION SERVICES
Information Resources, Drug Information Center Services :
Poisons information centre (PIC) is a specialised unit providing information on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of poisoning and hazard management.
Drug information service is a dedicated and specialised service provided by pharmacists to enhance knowledge of medicines use, promote rational prescribing among prescribers and reduce medication errors.
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DIS and DIC :
The concept of Drug information service (DIC) or Drug information centre (DIC) is an attempt to document drugs by abstracting information about them. The information about drugs in collected from a wide array of sources which are available -
Standard text - books and new research documents papers etc.
Company who makes the drug makes available detailed product literature, therapeutic index and brochures
Seminars, conferences and such other interfaces
Qualification For a Pharmacist To Run DIS :
He can critically evaluate the medicine literature
He can edit the information to facilitate decision making
He is aware of the sources of information and thus collects secondary date
His communication skills are much better
He is computer literate
He is a member of the PTC
He is re- defined his role and has become an export medicine counsellor from a mere medicine dispenser
He has knowledge of research methodology
Drug Information Centre Contain :
DIC contains its forerunner as a well- equipped pharmacy and medical texts and journals library independent of the library of the teaching institution or the hospital. The library carries a large number of reference texts, journal reprints and brochures. Sophisticated centres have photocopying facilities and audio- visual arrangements.
Operation of Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee :
This committee should meet regularly at least six times in a year and also as and when necessary. The committee can invite its members within or outside the hospital who can contribute specialised or unique knowledge skills and judgements. The agenda and supplementary materials should be prepared by the secretary and furnished to the committee members sufficiently in time before the meeting for them to properly study it. Generally, because of the broad scope enjoyed by this committee it is necessary that many interesting subjects may be rightfully placed in the agenda for discussion.
A typical agenda may consist of the following categories in general -
Minutes of the previous meeting
Reviews of the contents of the hospital formulas for the purpose of bringing it up to date and deleting of products not considering necessary for used
Information regarding new drugs which may have become commercially available
DRUG INFORMATION BULLETIN
Since communicating information about drugs to the respective target audience of the nurses, physicians. Other pharmacists, research centres and workers are of most importance, a drug information centre or service may produce a bulletin and distribute it. The bulletin may have features about new advances in medical science, relevance of pure research for detailed functions, questions and answer sessions. It gives abstract services for new developments. It is a bridge between the information and its application in clinical practice in the shortest possible time. DTP or Desktop Publishing has made the production of the bulletin a very good job.
Many new drugs have been coming up in clinical practice due to development of synthetic medicinal chemistry since the last 50 years. The commonest method for physicians obtaining informations about drugs is by visit of a representative of a pharmaceutical company, by attending lectures and symposia, by reading advertisement in medical literature, studying product data sheet circulated by manufacturers, reports from committee on safety of medicines and medical journal for example - Dose and Therapeutic Bulletin Dose of future etc.
Sources of information :
This type of centre must has a good collection of source material in order to answer the questions whenever they arise. This should be continuously updated and maintained.
Informations emerge originally from research and development. Such informations are publicised for the first time by time by way of what are called ‘Primary sources’. Sometimes these may take the form of informal communications and including discussion and session can be valuable source of primary information. In addition to these, the primary sources fall into several printed categories.
Primary Sources : It includes researchers and manufacturer material which comprise of -
Parents contain original information regarding the discovery of a drug or its development into a medicine
Report containing scientific data is submitted to the ‘medicines’ commissions to obtain a product license. The data sheets are mandatory before a drug product can be sold, supplied or represented
Scientific journals, some journals report research, other information on new development and express view point.
Secondary Sources :
They are usually abstracting or indexing services which summaries the information appearing in primary sources, for example International Pharmaceutical Abstract, Chemical Abstract, Biological Abstracts, Index Medicus, Exerpta Medical, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Abstract etc. These abstracts are of three types -
Telegraphic : there is usually only a string of words or description of contents
Indicative : there is more data, structure in sentence
The informative : these gives more data about the subject concerned
Formularies, pharmacopeias and text book fall into the category of secondary sources.
Tertiary Sources : It does not answer the problems concerned but act as like pointer to where it may be found, for example dictionaries and encyclopedia, Merck Index is a dictionary which can guides to medical terminology, chemical nomenclature and chemicals of medicinal importance.
Other Sources : These includes the libraries, research associations, government bodies, information centres in industries, analytical laboratories and poison centres which can be consulted to answer the specific problems.
Each document must be stored in some accessible place for easy location. It must be identifiable by some label or key representing the contents.
