Clinical pharmacology and the provision of drug information

Öhman, Birgitta; Lyrvall, Helena; Törnqvist, Elisabeth; Alván, Gunnar; Sjöqvist, Folke

doi:10.1007/bf00265916

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…POD is an answering service for the physician where the information is designed to include a discussion of the specific patient problem rather than to purely retrieve and forward pertinent literature. The information is typically provided by clinical pharmacologists or pharmacists with expertise in literature retrieval and appraisal [12][13][14][15], and the working method has much in common with the concept of EBM. A few studies have shown that POD has an impact on clinical practice [15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problem-oriented drug information: physicians’ expectations and impact on clinical practice

Hedegaard

Damkier

2009

Eur J Clin Pharmacol

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Purpose Problem-oriented drug information (POD) is a service in which health professionals provide evidencebased answers to clinical questions posed by physicians. The objective of this study was to evaluate the user satisfaction and clinical impact of POD, to investigate predictors for use and to examine the kind of sources physicians search before applying for POD. Methods To evaluate POD, a questionnaire was distributed with problem-oriented answers sent from a drug information centre to physicians during the period of April 2006 to March 2007. Results Of 197 questionnaires, 183 (93%) were returned. The information from the POD service was highly valued by the physicians, and 90% of the answers led to reported impact on clinical practice in the specific clinical situation. Furthermore, 74% of the answers were intended to be used in a wider context either for future patients (67%) or for dissemination to colleagues (51%). Secondary-care physicians more often than general practitioners (GPs) used the information for dissemination to colleagues (63 vs. 39%, P=0.0008), while GPs more often used the answer to support patient information (88 vs. 70%, P=0.0029). The most prominent motive for applying for POD was a request for evidencebased information (78%), and the service was used to overcome barriers to practicing evidence-based medicine such as lack of time (36%), skills for searching (26%), and appraising the literature (13%). Before inquiring, 74% of the physicians had tried other information sources; the most frequent sources used were a drug reference (68%) and consulting a colleague (24%). Secondary-care physicians reported fewer barriers than GPs when seeking information, and secondary-care physicians searched other sources more often than GPs before contacting the service (81 vs. 67%, P=0.031). Conclusion POD represents a useful source for acquiring evidence-based drug information by physicians. POD is highly valued by the users. It was reported to have an impact on clinical practice for the specific patient but is also intended to be used in a wider context for future patients or for dissemination to colleagues. GPs' and secondary-care physicians' use of POD differs with GPs having more focus on patient information and secondary-care physicians having more focus on dissemination of the information to colleagues.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problem-oriented drug information: physicians’ expectations and impact on clinical practice

Hedegaard

Damkier

2009

Eur J Clin Pharmacol

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“…However, the development of this clinical pharmacology activity has been discussed in terms of high technology availability [4,5]. A systematic approach in providing evaluated and problem-oriented drug information by the Drug Information Centre (DIC) studied here was presented in this journal [6]. The aim of the DIC is to answer questions about drug treatment A. LLerena ([]) …”

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confidence: 99%

References used in a Drug Information Centre

LLerena

Öhman

Alván

1995

Eur J Clin Pharmacol

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The literature sources used in 461 consecutive problem-oriented questions submitted during 1993 to a Drug Information Centre were reviewed retrospectively. Journals were the most frequently used literature source (36% of all quotations). Commonly used medical and clinical pharmacology journals, together with standard textbooks, provided the necessary information to solve more than 50% of drug information requests. Most questions could be answered by including the complementary use of the question/answer database Drugline. Drug information access is important for the improvement of rational use of drugs. According to the present study, this activity is possible with a fairly limited number of sources.

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“…A register of all Q&As handled by the DIC at the Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, was used as the information source for this study [2,18]. When a question is asked, a literature search is performed at the DIC, the available information is evaluated and initially a preliminary answer is given.…”

Section: Settings and Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After internal review and approval at a weekly staff meeting a written answer with references is sent to the requester [18]. All Q&As are continuously registered in a local database, Dataease, which contains information concerning question date, questioner, demographic data, drug and medical history of the patient, and the drug related problem in question (adverse reaction, interaction, kinetics, drug choice and/or dosing, or drug formulation and/or administration) and the answer delivered with literature references [2,18]. The Q&As of general interest are put into an international database, Drugline, that is continually updated by the DICs in Sweden, Odense Denmark and Åbo, Finland [19].…”

Section: Settings and Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drug related problems and off-label drug treatment in children as seen at a drug information centre

et al. 2006

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The aim of this work was to analyse the characteristics of Questions and Answers (Q&As) at a drug information centre (DIC) regarding drug related problems and off-label drug treatment in children. All questions concerning children 15 years or younger at a DIC in Stockholm, Sweden during the years 1995-2004 were analysed with respect to the main drug related problem, drug/s and drug group/s, whether the drugs were licensed or not, pediatric labelling of the drug/s and age and sex of the patient. Q&As were classified as whether or not they included evaluated literature information, adding to the labelling of the drugs. We identified 249 Q&As concerning pediatric drug treatment. Each question addressed an average of 1.5 drugs. More than two-thirds of the Q&As concerned adverse drug reactions and pediatric drug choice or dosing. Every second question was classified as offlabel, psychotropic drugs being the most common. In half of all off-label Q&As, pediatric documentation on drug efficacy and safety outside the Swedish catalogue of medical products was found. Most Q&As concerned newborns and infants. However, the off-label proportion among questions was highest in adolescence as well as the evaluated literature information, adding to the labelling of the drugs. It was thus found that off-label drug treatment is common among pediatric questions at a DIC. This service can provide additional literature based information contributing to a safer use of drugs in children. There is still, however, a substantial need for clinical documentation of drug use in children.

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Clinical pharmacology and the provision of drug information

Cited by 26 publications

References 11 publications

Problem-oriented drug information: physicians’ expectations and impact on clinical practice

Problem-oriented drug information: physicians’ expectations and impact on clinical practice

References used in a Drug Information Centre

Drug related problems and off-label drug treatment in children as seen at a drug information centre

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