Diagnosis of the availability and use of drug information sources in drugstores and pharmacies in southern Brazil

Abstract

This research has aimed to estimate the use of drug information sources by pharmacists in drugstores and pharmacies in southern Brazil. It consisted of sending a questionnaire through regular mail, contacting the pharmacist via phone and visiting the drugstores. Four hundred and eight (68.6%) of the 595 enrolled establishments answered the questionnaire. The information at pharmacies and drugstores is searched mainly to orient the patient. At drugstores the professionals have an average of 2.3 books, whereas at pharmacies they rely on 6.1. In a pharmacy, the chance to find more than five books is 27 times higher than in a drugstore. The more often available books are pharmaceutical specialties compendiums. There is access to Internet in 87.5% of pharmacies and 59% of drugstores. The National Agency of Health Surveillance webpage is the most accessed website, and the call centers of Pharmaceutical Companies are the most searched information service. Lack of time is the main alleged difficulty for searching information. The pharmacists working in the studied establishments miss appropriate drug information sources. Taking into consideration how important information is in the pharmaceutical practice, there is a need to emphasize this subject through an educative process, during undergraduate studies and continued education.Uniterms: Pharmaceutical assistance. Drugs/information availability. Pharmaceutical practice.A pesquisa teve como objetivo descrever a utilização de fontes de informação em drogarias e farmácias no sul do Brasil. A mesma consistiu do envio do questionário pelo correio, contato com farmacêuticos por telefone e visita aos estabelecimentos. A resposta foi obtida em 408 (68,6%) dos 595 estabelecimentos amostrados. A informação nas farmácias e drogarias é buscada, principalmente, para orientar o paciente. O profissional tem, em média, 2,3 livros nas drogarias e 6,1 nas farmácias. Em uma farmácia, a chance de se encontrar mais de cinco livros corresponde a 27 vezes aquela em uma drogaria. Os bulários são os livros mais freqüentemente disponíveis. Há acesso à Internet em 87,5% das farmácias e em 59% das drogarias, sendo a chance de uma farmácia ter este recurso, cinco vezes maior que aquela em uma drogaria. A página da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária é a mais acessada e o Serviço de Atendimento ao Consumidor das Companhias Farmacêuticas, o serviço de informação mais consultado. A falta de tempo é a principal limitação da busca de informação. O farmacêutico nos estabelecimentos pesquisados é carente de fontes adequadas de informação. Considerando a importância da informação na prática farmacêutica, é necessário enfatizar o tema utilizando um processo educativo no período de formação e em atividades de atualização.

Assessment of the Use and Status of New Drug Information Centers in a Developing Country, Ethiopia: The Case of Public University Hospital Drug Information Centers

“…This and other services of DICs in Ethiopia are similar to other countries [8, 43, 44]. Elsewhere in other countries (Argentina, Costa Rica, Italy, and Iran), DICs strongly participate in course development and offering to students and involve different committees in the hospital.…”

Preference for utilization of drug information sources among postgraduate medical residents

“…Studies in literature have documented mixed preference among physician and influence from the pharmaceutical industry. [1][2][3][4][5][6] The present study is the first attempt at identifying the preference for drug information sources among postgraduate medical residents at a tertiary care hospital in Navi Mumbai.…”

“…Previous studies have documented varying preference for sources of drug information. [1][2][3][4][5] In a review article of several studies by Davies on information seeking behaviour of doctors has documented that the two most frequently used information sources were textbooks, followed by human contact (senior staff and peer contact). 7 The use of textbooks being commonest source of drug information was similar to our findings.…”

“…1 A study by authors, among pharmacist in Brazil has also documented lack of time, non-acquaintance about source availability, high cost and lack of information sources as potential barriers to seeking drug information which is similar to barriers perceived by physicians. 2 We are living in an era where physicians are exposed to vast array of information, due to advancement of technology and aggressive marketing of pharmaceutical companies. Internet has certainly made life easier in many aspects.…”

“…1 Medicine occupies an important role in the health system and, when appropriately utilized, it is the most frequently cost-effective therapeutic resource. 2 The physicians are expected to manage a wide array of medical conditions for large number of patients. 3 They usually use a variety of information resources to support their personal knowledge base.…”