Assessment and evaluation of drug information services provided by department of pharmacy practice based on enquirerandrsquo;s perspective at tertiary care hospital, Kalburgi

Abstract

Background: Drug-information service (DIS), is still in a nascent stage, and might be due to late introduction of such tradition in India. It is an undervalued course of department of pharmacy practice that is barely used to their full potential in providing information about drug to the health-care professionals in India. This study has been conducted to expound and explore the information regarding drug needed to enquirer mainly patient specific. The service comprises of collecting, reviewing, evaluating, indexing, and distributing information requested by enquirer. Rational drug use demands access to unbiased drug-information. Aim: To assess and evaluate the DIS provided by department of pharmacy practice based on enquirer’s perspective. Materials and methods: A hospital based prospective study for six months was conducted. Results: A total of 113 queries were received with an average of 18.83 queries per month. Majority of queries were received from interns (39.82%) and general medicine physicians (21.23%). Predominantly asked for the purpose of education or academic 51(37.50%), update of knowledge 31(31.61%) and better patient care 36(26.47%). The feedbacks of the response were rated as ‟good and satisfactory”. Conclusion: The quality of the services provided by the center suggests providing more awareness regarding DIS.