Ask the Pharmacist: An Analysis of Online Drug Information Services

Abstract

While few differences were found among sites based on their approval status or type, low response rates and incomplete counseling information among many of the responses are cause for concern.

A nationwide evaluation on electronic medication‐related information provided by hospital websites

“…While the provision of evidence-based practice was also emphasized upon the hospital accreditation requirements in Taiwan, the e-MRI provided by those medical institutes should not overlook its level of evidence and provision [19]. Lacking the cited evidence and responsible authors, the inconsistency of e-MRI might incur confusion to the non-professional e-MRI seekers.…”

“…While the general public might 'ask the pharmacist' online or search for electronic medication information provided by pharmacies or pharmacists online, the quality of provided medication information and coverage of the subject should be monitored [19]. For instance, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in the United States initiated the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) programme to ensure that the medication information comply with the rules of meaningful online consultation by the Internet pharmacies towards patients/inquirers [20].…”

Quality of Online Pharmacies and Websites Selling Prescription Drugs: A Systematic Review

“…Samples were obtained using a variety of methods, the most frequent being to look for online pharmacies using online search engines via various keywords. Some researchers used different sample selection methods: one found websites from received spam [74], while others looked for the websites indicated by other sources, such as the first one listed in the Best Online Pharmacy guide by epharmacyfinder.com [14], or the VIPPS list [59,76], the Pharmacychecker.com list [89], or the Top 100 Retailer [77]. …”

“…Holmes et al [76] evaluated the quality of online pharmacy “ask the pharmacy” services regarding adverse effects, drug interaction, risk factors, drug information, and directions for use. They found that answers were received to only 51% of all questions submitted to the websites, and the percentage of correct answers provided for each of 22 response components ranged from 7% to 96%, with few differences in quality between VIPPS-approved and -unapproved websites.…”

Public eHealth and new scenarios in terms of risks and opportunities: a specific focus on cyberpharmacies

“…With regard to the quality of information delivered by the counselling services of cyberpharmacies, Holmes et al (2005) submitted questions to the ''ask the pharmacy'' services and analysed the responses, finding a low response rate (51%) and incomplete counselling information (correct responses ranged from 7% to 96%), with few differences among sites based on their approval status or type.…”