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3c905 Rmab029

This article reviews drug information services provided in India. It finds that the majority of queries to drug information centers come from general medicine departments and clinicians, and most queries are about adverse drug reactions and updating knowledge. The quality of services provided is assessed to be very good to excellent from both the perspective of those receiving information and those providing it. There is a need to expand the scope of these services and increase awareness about them. Every hospital should aim to have a drug information center.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
29 views8 pages

3c905 Rmab029

This article reviews drug information services provided in India. It finds that the majority of queries to drug information centers come from general medicine departments and clinicians, and most queries are about adverse drug reactions and updating knowledge. The quality of services provided is assessed to be very good to excellent from both the perspective of those receiving information and those providing it. There is a need to expand the scope of these services and increase awareness about them. Every hospital should aim to have a drug information center.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 2021, Vol 12, 452–459

doi:10.1093/jphsr/rmab029
Review
Advance Access publication 2 July 2021

Review

A cumulative review on the utilisation of drug


information services provided in India
G. K. Sadagoban, Aiswarya Baiju, Samantha Sanjeev, M. Ayilya and

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Swathi Swaroopa Borra*,
Department of Pharmacy Practice, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Ooty,
Nilgiris,Tamil Nadu, India

*Correspondence: Swathi Swaroopa Borra, Department of Pharmacy Practice, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of
Higher Education and Research, Ooty, Tamil Nadu 643001, India. Email: swathimasthani@hotmail.com

Received April 30, 2021; Accepted May 24, 2021.

Abstract
Objective
To understand the utilisation of drug information services provided in India.
Key findings
The quantitative aspects of drug information queries were assessed. Majority of the queries were
raised from the General Medicine Department (43.64%) and by clinicians (41.77%), most of them
were regarding adverse drug reactions (18.17%) and the prime purpose of the enquirer was to up-
date knowledge (46.73%). The three steps for qualitative assessment and evaluation of drug infor-
mation services were assessed and the overall response from the receiver’s perspective was found
to be very good/satisfactory and the provider’s perspective was rendered excellent.
Summary
There is an increased need to expand the scope of drug information services and promote aware-
ness regarding the services and it is recommended that every hospital have a Drug Information
Centre.

Keywords: drug information India; Medicine Information Center; utilization of DIC; assessment and evaluation

Introduction for healthcare professionals to retrieve relevant information.


This led to the establishment of the first DIC by the University of
The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) defines Drug
Kentucky in 1962. In later years, there was a rise in the number of
Information Centres (DICs) as operational units that provide tech-
pharmacists-operated DICs; however, many of these centres had
nical and scientific information about drugs in an objective and
to close down in the mid-1980s due to the lack of budget. This
timely manner.[1] The aim of the drug information service (DIS) is
led to the broadening of the scope of DISs involving the inclusion
to provide accurate, unbiased information primarily in response
of educating allied health professions, providing evidence-based
to patient-oriented drug and poison related queries received from
medical information, drug consultation, supporting the institu-
various members of the healthcare team.[2] Providing drug informa-
tions’ medication safety programmes and providing information
tion to patients and other healthcare professionals to ensure the safe
systems support.[4]
and effective use of medications is the fundamental responsibility of
In India, the national policies were more industry-focused
pharmacists.[3]
than health-focused, hence the role of DIC needed to be enlight-
In the early 1900s, the increase in the discovery of new drugs
ened and awareness had to be spread about the DIS and rational
and literature on the existing as well as new drugs made it difficult
use of drugs. Recognising the importance of providing accurate

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. All rights reserved.
452
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Utilization of drug information services in India, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3 453

and unbiased information to healthcare professionals and consumers, 1 and ‘No’ is scored 0. The total score is then graded from grade
the World Health Organization India Country Office collaborated A–D, where 7–8 points is Grade A  and indicates the quality of
with the Karnataka State Pharmacy Council (KSPC) and initiated service provided was excellent from the provider’s perspective and
the first independent DIC at the state level, in 1997.[5] DISs was ini- points below 4 is Grade D and indicates that the service requires
tiated by JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty, at the institutional level improvement.[10]
and Trivandrum Medical College at the hospital level.[4] The DIC of The benefits of DIC include promoting safe and effective use of
the KSPC in coordination with the Delhi Society for Promotion of medications by detecting and minimizing drug-related issues with
Rational Drug Use (DSPRUD) had developed a standard treatment prescriptions, promoting good clinical care practices and providing
guideline and an essential drug list for Karnataka. The National medication use policies, increasing pharmacist productivity to reduce
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommends the establishment time consumption by healthcare professionals in reviewing drug in-
of DICs in all hospitals.[6] formation, promoting patient compliance and medication adherence
The objective of the DIC is to identify the minimum criteria for and aiding in reducing widespread practice of self-medication and
establishing DICs at various levels to guide in recognising the value medication abuse.[11]
of monitoring and assessment in ensuring the quality of drug in- The International Register of Drug Information Services (IRDIS),

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formation dissemination, to serve as a guide for other centres, to which is maintained by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of
provide a structured database of specialised information on medi- Australia (SHPA) is the registering authority of DICs. As of 2016,
cines and therapeutics to meet the drug information need of various 22 DICs in India have been registered with the IRDIS. Few of the
healthcare practitioners and to promote patient care through the ra- registered DICs are:[12]
tional use of drugs.[7]
DIC services are available as both reactive and proactive ap- • Al Shifa Hospital, Perintalmanna, Kerala
proaches. The reactive approach is widely used in hospital-based DIC, • Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and

which provides answers to time-critical questions about the safe and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry
efficient use of therapeutic and diagnostic pharmaceuticals to health- • Bulletin on Drug and Health Information (BODHI), Calcutta,

care professionals. In proactive approach, some DICs publish and West Bengal
distribute frequent reports on a wide range of topics that includes • Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital (KMCH), Coimbatore, Tamil
drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, interpretation of therapeutic Nadu
drug monitoring, adverse drug events, comparison of drug efficacy, • JSS Medical College Hospital, Mysuru, Karnataka
safety profile, interpretation of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)
levels, dosing recommendation for organ impairment, treatment
So far, in India, studies on the services provided by the DIC have
guideline updates, approval and availability of new drugs, usage of
been conducted only at the institutional level. Hence, in this review,
drugs in any special circumstances, guidance on obtaining previously
we aim at providing a cumulative review of the services provided by
licensed drugs in other countries, salient study finding in reputed jour-
various DICs in the country.
nals and plethora of questions from available literature sources.[8]
To ensure that the services are provided in a professional manner,
qualitative assessment and evaluation of DIS are done. This includes
three steps:[9] Method
A literature search in PubMed and ResearchGate was performed
The first step is the evaluation of drug information request and docu- and articles published within the time frame of January 2002 to
mentation forms for various parameters such as the speciality of January 2021 were selected. A Boolean search of databases was
practice, professional status of the enquirer, purpose of enquiry, implemented to combine a range of keywords: ‘Evaluation’ AND
category of question, mode of receipt of query, time frame to ‘Assessment’ OR ‘Appraisal’ AND ‘Drug Information Services’
reply and references used. OR ‘Drug Information Center’ AND ‘India’. Studies were also
The second step involves the quality of services provided from obtained from journals by manual electronic search (Figure 1).
the receiver’s perspective and is assessed through a feedback The objective of this review is to understand the utilisation of
questionnaire. DISs provided in India.
The third step includes the assessment of the quality of DIS from
the provider’s perspective by using the Deutsche Stiftung für
Internationale Entwicklung (DSE) - German Foundation for Inclusion criteria
International Development/WHO seminar guidelines. Based on The quantitative aspects of DIC can be evaluated with professional
these guidelines, the queries are categorised as judgemental and status of the enquirer, medical speciality of enquirer, purpose of en-
non-judgemental types. The parameters assessed are securing en- quiry, type of drug query, mode of receipt of query, mode of reply
quirers’ demographic data, obtaining background information, and time frame to reply. From the aforementioned topics, we have
formulation and implementation of a search strategy, evaluation selected four topics as the remaining topics are available only in few
of literature and the response provided. After the evaluation of individualised articles.
the queries, each query was given a rating from 1 to 5, where 5
indicated that the information provided was excellent and 1 indi-
cated that consultation was unacceptable for use. Exclusion criteria
All articles which did not detail the type of query, purpose of en-
There exists a different Quality Assessment Checklist which con- quiry and the quantity of queries raised by various healthcare profes-
sists of eight close-ended questions, where ‘Yes’ is given a score of sionals and their specialised departments were excluded.
454 Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3

Table 1 Number of queries from articles regarding drug


information services

Articles regarding drug information services Number of queries

George B et al.[9] 666


Rajanandh MG et al.[13] 469
Vishwanth J et al.[14] 113
Kumar SV et al.[15] 344
Rajanandh MG et al.[16] 192
Patel H et al.[10] 1204
Kumar MM et al.[17] 122
Krishnaveni K et al.[18] 283
Praveen KM et al.[19] 277
Malik KM et al.[20] 205
Jeevangi VM et al.[21] 122

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Pradeep P et al.[22] 512
Total number of
queries = 4459

Qualitative evaluation of drug information queries


In 7 of the 12 articles, drug information request forms and docu-
mentation forms were evaluated on parameters that included the
professional status of the enquirer, speciality of practice, purpose of
enquiry, categorisation of question, mode of receipt of query, time
frame to reply, categorisation of question and references used.[9]
Figure 1.  Literature search flowchart. Receiver’s perspective (Table 6) was assessed in 10 articles based
on a feedback questionnaire that included the following components:
awareness of DIS, utilisation of the services, receiving the response
Results in an appropriate and timely manner, awareness and utilisation of
A total of 4459 queries were included from 12 articles regarding the online drug information system, usefulness of the service in pro-
DICs in India (Table 1). viding patient care and rating of the services provided.[9] In these
articles, the feedback on the service provided was found to be very
Quantitative assessment of drug good/satisfactory.
information queries The quality of the service provided was assessed in three articles
from the provider’s perspective (Table 6) using a form developed in
The quantitative dimension of the drug information queries was as-
accordance with the DSE/WHO seminar guidelines and two articles
sessed as a mean percentage.
used the quality assessment checklist. The cumulative response for
the quality of the services provided was rendered excellent.
Queries received from different medical specialities (Table 2)
From 23 different medical specialities, the Department of General
Medicine (43.64%) generated the most queries in the papers in- Discussion
cluded in our review, followed by Paediatrics (8.09%), Dermatology
Among the various healthcare specialities and healthcare profes-
(4.87%), Gynaecology (4.56%) and Cardiology (4.28%).
sionals assessed, a great percentage of queries were received from
the General Medicine Department and Clinicians, respectively. Due
Categorisation of queries received (Table 3) to increasing co-morbidities and polypharmacy condition, a general
From 19 categories, most queries were raised regarding Adverse medicine practitioner’s skill in delivering non-surgical healthcare to
drug reactions (ADRs) (18.17%), Dosage and administration the general population, as well as their holistic approach to diag-
(17.12%), Drug interaction (11%), Drug indication (10.81%) and nosis and patient care, becomes more complex. As they deal with
Drug therapy (10.16%). patients with comorbid conditions and a wide range of medications
are utilised, there is an increased number of drug information queries
Queries received from various healthcare professionals raised by them.
(Table 4) Among the 4459 queries received, the greatest number of queries
Clinicians (41.77%), Interns (15.07%), Nurses (9.08%) and were regarding ADRs, followed by dosage and administration of
Postgraduates and Pharmacists (8.18%) individually were the drugs. Information on ADRs is often used to improve patient care
healthcare professionals who contributed the greatest number of by recognising and clarifying the suspected ADRs. Hence, DICs have
queries. the potential to play a significant role by aiding physicians with re-
quired drug information for effective communication between the
Purpose for approaching Drug Information Centre (Table 5) patients and healthcare professionals by encouraging the reporting
The purpose of the healthcare professionals’ enquiry was to Update of ADRs for safer drug use.[23]
knowledge (46.73%), Better patient care (35.01%) and Education/ The majority of queries to the DIC were for the purpose of up-
Academic (13.13%). dating knowledge, followed by better patient care and education/
Table 2  Drug information queries received from different medical specialities

Speciality Articles regarding Drug Information Centres in India (% of queries) Mean %

George B Rajanandh MG Vishwanth J Kumar SV Rajanandh MG Patel H Kumar MM Krishnaveni K Praveen KM Malik KM Jeevangi VM Pradeep P
et al.[9] et al.[13] et al.[14] et al.[15] et al.[16] et al.[10] et al.[17] et al.[18] et al.[19] et al.[20] et al.[21] et al.[22]

General Medicine – 13 21.23 42.4 52.6 26 77.85 62.89 34.8 89.76 67.21 35.93 43.64
Surgery 2.55 – 2.65 – – 19.35 – 2.82 – 1.95 1.64 – 2.58
Infectious diseases – – – – – – – 4.59 – – – – 0.38
Cardiology 6 11.51 – 9 4.6 – – – 20.26 – – – 4.28
Gastroenterology – – – – – – – – 9.69 – – – 0.81
Chest and – 8.1 4.42 – 6.2 – – – 5.72 – – – 2.04
Tuberculosis
ENT – 8.1 – – – – – – 1.32 – – – 0.78
Psychiatry 2.55 8.1 – – – – – – – – – 6.05 1.39
Endocrinology – 7.03 – – – – – – – – – – 0.59
Gynaecology 6.75 6.82 – – 9.3 – – 9.18 1.76 – 9.01 11.91 4.56
Utilization of drug information services in India, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3

Paediatrics 11.8 6.6 12.37 12 4.1 15.61 9.84 6.36 – – 8.2 10.16 8.09
Oncology – 5.97 – 3.1 – – – – – 3.41 – 8.01 1.71
Nephrology 21.17 5.75 – – 3.1 – – – 3.96 – – – 2.83
Neurology 11.81 5.33 – – – – – – 6.6 – – 5.66 2.45
Dermatology 7.66 4.69 14.14 2.9 2.08 8.47 12.3 – – – – 6.25 4.87
Orthopaedics – – 3.53 – – – – 5.3 15.85 – 6.56 – 2.6
Urology 1.65 – – – – – – – – – – – 0.14
Dentistry 6 – – – – – – – – – – – 0.5
Ophthalmology – – – – 0.5 – – – – – – – 0.04
Causality – – – – – – – – – – – 5.66 0.47
Nursing 3.45 – – – – – – – – – – – 0.29
Pharmacy – 4.05 – – 10.9 – – – – 0.49 – – 1.29
Nutrition – 2.55 – – – – – – – – – – 0.21
Others 18.62 2.34 41.58 30.2 6.2 – – 8.83 – 4.39 7.38 10.35 10.82

“–”, not available; ENT, Ear, Nose and Throat.


455

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456

Table 3  Categorisation of drug information queries received

Type of Enquiry Articles regarding Drug Information Centres in India (% of queries) Mean %

George Rajanandh Vishwanth Kumar SV Rajanandh Patel H Kumar MM Krishnaveni Praveen Malik KM Jeevangi Pradeep
B et al.[9] MG et al.[13] J et al.[14] et al.[15] MG et al.[16] et al.[10] et al.[17] K et al.[18] KM et al.[19] et al.[20] VM et al.[21] P et al.[22]

Dosage and administration 27 12.36 20 6 13.02 21.59 18.8 8.8 8.81 12.68 36.03 20.31 17.12
ADR 24.7 18.55 16.12 21 30.7 7.97 16.39 21.2 12.77 9.76 17.65 21.28 18.17
Drug therapy 15.3 – – 34 8.8 4.90 – 6.3 11.45 29.27 – 11.91 10.16
Drug interaction 8.2 4.9 8.38 16 4.6 6.48 9.02 40 8.37 1.95 13.98 10.16 11
Indication – 27.29 11.61 8 12.5 7.89 21.31 2.5 24.22 0.98 7.35 6.05 10.81
Mechanism of action – 12.79 – – – – – – 3.08 – – – 1.32
Drug overview – 13.43 – – – – – – – – – – 1.12
Contraindications and – 10.66 – – – – 10.66 – 6.16 – – – 2.29
precautions
Availability and cost – – – – – 8.7 – 3.9 2.64 – 1.47 5.66 2.7
Pharmacokinetics and – – 7.74 – – 5.98 9.84 19.1 2.64 0.49 2.94 2.92 4.3
pharmacodynamics
Toxicology – – 4.51 – – – – 6.4 – – 0.73 6.25 1.49
Pregnancy and lactation – – – – – 7.56 5.74 – – – – 6.25 1.63
Teratogenicity – – – – – – – 35 – – – 5.66 3.39
Identification – – – – – – – – 0.44 – – – 0.04
Stability – – – – – – – – – – – 1.14 0.09
Compound formulation – – – – – 2.74 – – – – – 2.34 0.42
Dosage adjustment – – – – – 15.7 – – – – – – 1.31
Drug efficacy – – – – – 3.97 – – – – – – 0.33
Others 21.1 – 31.61 15 30.2 – 8.2 5.3 19.37 38.54 19.85 – 15.76

“––”, not available.


Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3

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Table 4  Drug information queries received from various healthcare professionals

Status of the Articles regarding Drug Information Centres in India (% of queries) Mean
enquirer %
George Rajanandh Vishwanth Kumar SV Rajanandh Patel H Kumar MM Krishnaveni Praveen KM Malik KM Jeevangi Pradeep P
B et al.[9] MG et al.[13] J et al.[14] et al.[15] MG et al.[16] et al.[10] et al.[17] K et al.[18] et al.[19] et al.[20] VM et al.[21] et al.[22]

Clinicians 17.7 13.43 21.23 25 21.3 39.97 71.31 73.14 47.13 37.07 92.62 41.4 41.77
Postgraduates 15.7 – – 18 – 48.17 – – 0.44 9.76 – 6.05 8.18
Nurses – 19.61 – 16 – – 4.92 11.66 23.34 16.1 – 17.38 9.08
Interns – 44.77 39.82 12 44.7 8.06 20.49 – 7.48 – – 3.51 15.07
Pharmacists – 12.15 – 13 13.5 – 3.82 9.18 4.4 35.12 – 7.03 8.18
Nutritionists – 5.9 – – – – – – – – – – 0.49
Others 2.1 4 – 15 20.3 – – 6.07 17.17 1.95 7.38 23.63 8.13

“–”, not available.


Utilization of drug information services in India, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3

Table 5  Purpose for approaching Drug Information Centre

Purpose of enquiry Articles regarding Drug Information Centres in India (% of queries) Mean
%

George Rajanandh Vishwanth J Kumar SV Rajanandh Patel H Kumar MM Krishnaveni K Praveen Malik KM Jeevangi VM Pradeep P
B et al.[9] MG et al.[13] et al.[14] et al.[15] MG et al.[16] et al.[10] et al.[17] et al.[18] KM et al.[19] et al.[20] et al.[21] et al.[22]

Update knowledge 45.3 43.71 31.61 44 43.03 39 69.67 38.86 52.86 53.66 56.56 42.57 46.73
Better patient care 52.8 36.24 26.47 24 44.9 61 30.33 31.81 21.58 35.61 31.15 24.21 35.01
Education/Academic 1.66 20.04 37.5 33 12.02 – – 28.26 – – 10.65 14.06 13.1
All of the above – – 4.41 – – – – – – – 1.64 9.14 2.1
Others – – – – – – – 1.06 25.55 10.73 – – 3.11

“–”, not available.


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458 Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3

Table 6  Qualitative assessment from receiver’s and provider’s perspective

Articles Receiver’s perspective Provider’s perspective

George B et al.[9] 65% – Good Judgemental queries


25.5% – Satisfactory 50% – Excellent
12.5% – Needs improvement 40% – Very good
10% – Good
Non-judgemental queries
50% – Excellent
50% – Very good
Rajanandh MG et al.[13] 75.4% – Excellent 80.6% – Excellent
24.6% – Well 19.4% – Good
Vishwanth J et al.[14] The response was rated good and satisfactory –
Kumar SV et al.[15] – –
Rajanandh MG et al.[16] 10.4% – Excellent –

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77.4% – Very good
10.9% – Good
1.04% – Satisfactory
Patel H et al.[10] – 64.5% – Excellent
30.8% – Good
3.37% – Needs Improvement
Kumar MM et al.[17] – Judgemental queries
45% – Excellent
35% – Very good
20% – Good
Non-judgemental queries
40% – Excellent
35% – Very good
25% – Good
Krishnaveni K et al.[18] 63.6% – Good –
30.03% – Satisfactory
6.3% – Needs improvement
Praveen KM et al.[19] – -
Malik KM et al.[20] The response was rated satisfactory From 31 randomly selected queries
51.61% – Excellent
35.48% – Good
12.9% – Needs improvement
Jeevangi VM et al.[21] 24.59% – Excellent –
54.91% – Very good
13.11% – Good
7.37% – Satisfactory
Pradeep P et al.[22] – 84.17% – Excellent
15.23% – Very good
0.58% – Good

“–”, not available.

academic purposes. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Future prospects of DIS in India[25]
Education (ACGME) describes medical knowledge as one of its DIC can help reduce physician workload by keeping track of med-
six clinical core competencies for physicians, it is essential for the ical records of patients with comorbid or chronic conditions by
physicians to update knowledge on the evolving biomedical, clin- contacting and conducting follow-up on possible patients to en-
ical, epidemiological and social behavioural sciences and apply this hance their health outcomes.[25] Provision of information about
knowledge to improve patient-specific outcomes.[24] complementary and alternative medicines such as Ayurveda, Yoga
Comparisons of various studies revealed that qualitative assess- and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) could
ment was not performed in all the studies. As a result, it should be expand the scope of DICs in developing countries, where a large
ensured that a quality audit is conducted to assess the functioning number of patients extensively use these medicines. DICs within
of the services. academic centres in India can provide such information by collab-
orating with the existing in-house departments of complementary
Limitations and alternative medicines.[8] TDM services, ADR detection, cooper-
The limited data on qualitative assessment of DISs is because ma- ation with forensic scientists for illicit product identification, fo-
jority of the papers did not conduct the assessment as there is no rensic pharmacology, post-mortem toxicology and expert testimony
standard checklist or recommendations till date. Lack of reference have all been attempted successfully in Denmark and can be im-
articles that assess the cumulative utilisation of various DISs in India plemented in India as well. Other initiatives like online and offline
has made it difficult to produce a comparative result of the review. outreach education, where pharmacists/pharmacologists are trained
Utilization of drug information services in India, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3 459

with details of medical knowledge to interact with physicians and 5. Chauhan  NS, Raveendra  R, Geetha  J. et  al. Drug Information
to share the best prescription practices as a way of encouraging Centre(DIC)-An Indian Scenario. Indian J Pharm Pract 2009; 2: 21–7.
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practiced.[8]
Rev Res 2020; 64: 60–4. https://doi.org/10.47583/ijpsrr.2020.v64i02.010
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Conclusion
health care professionals in hospitals. J Chem Pharm Res 2017; 9: 28–38.
To our knowledge, this is the first cumulative review on the util- 8. Patil AN, Padhy BM, Prasanthi SK, Rohilla R. Drug information center in
isation of DISs provided in India. In our review, we understood India: Overview, challenges, and future prospects. Int J Pharma Investig
that the DISs is utilised in few hospitals, but the number is limited. 2018; 8: 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4103/jphi.JPHI_103_17
Hence, there is a need to promote awareness regarding the services 9. George B, Rao PG. Assessment and evaluation of drug information serv-
and it is recommended that every hospital have a DIC. Qualitative ices provided in a South Indian teaching hospital. Indian J Pharmacol
2005; 37: 315–9. https://doi.org/10.4103/0253-7613.16856
and quantitative assessment of DIS is essential in improving the
10. Patel  H, Adepu  R, Sapthagiri  R, Gurumurthy  P. Drugs and therapeutic
overall performance of the service. By understanding the deficien-

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cies in the services provided, we can overcome them and promote
tient care: an experience from a tertiary care teaching hospital. Asian J
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file/shpa_international_register_of_drug_information_services_2018.pdf
training pharmacists and pharmacologists through offline or online
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outreach programmes.
pharmacists-led drug information service in a tertiary care hospital in India.
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Acknowledgements
of drug information services provided by department of pharmacy prac-
The authors would like to thank the staff of the Department of Pharmacy tice based on enquirer’s perspective at tertiary care hospital, Kalaburgi. J
Practice, JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty, for their constant support. Pharmacovigil 2020; 8: 280. https://doi.org/10.348/2329-6887.20.8.280
15. Kumar SV, Chakilam V. Quality of services provided by drug information
centre of the pharmacy practice department in tertiary care teaching hos-
Author Contributions pital at Warangal District: Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian J Hosp Pharm
G. K. Sadagoban, Aiswarya Baiju, Samantha Sanjeev and M. Ayilya conceived 2012; 49: 151–6.
the idea and designed the manuscript. Aiswarya Baiju, Samantha Sanjeev and 16. Rajanandh  MG, Varghese  RU, Ramasamy  C. Assessment of drug infor-
M. Ayilya contributed to the collection of articles and were responsible for mation services in a South Indian tertiary care hospital in Kanchipuram
writing the manuscript draft. Swathi Swaroopa Borra was responsible for crit- district. Int J Pharm Sci 2011; 3: 273–6.
ically reviewing the manuscript. All the authors contributed substantially to 17. Kumar  MM, Sowmya  B, Dinesh  R. et  al. Evaluation of performance of
the study conception, design, data interpretation, analysis and drafting of the drug information centre providing quality of information services to
manuscript. During revision of manuscript all authors provided their insights. healthcare professionals in a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India.
The whole process was supervised by G. K. Sadagoban. Inov Pharm Pharmacother 2013; 1: 81–90.
18. Krishnaveni  K, Kameswaran  R, Sumitha  SK, Sajan  AS. Assessment and
evaluation of drug information services provided by a drug information
Funding centre at a multispeciality hospital in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. Int J Basic
Clin Pharmacol 2018; 7: 1987–90.
This review received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public,
19. Praveen KM, Umme A, Zaibunnisa FF. et al. A study on assessment and
commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
evaluation of drug information service (queries) in a tertiary care co-
operate hospital. Int J Pharmacol Clin Res 2018; 2: 19–23.
20. Malik KM, Malik BR, Sundaran S. Evaluation of drug and poison infor-
Conflict of Interest
mation services in a secondary care hospital and community pharmacies
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose. in Ooty. Pharmacologyonline 2009; 3: 624–40.
21. Jeevangi VM, Patil N, Gene AB. et al. Assessment and evaluation of drug
information service provided by Pharmacy Practice department on en-
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