Drug information centers: An overview to the concept

Abstract

Drug Information Centers (DIC) have an important place in the health care processsince they provide independent and updated information. A search was developedin Medline, Science Direct, Academic Search Complete, LILACS and AcademicGoogle in order to know the state of the art of DIC around the world. Regarding toa timeline, the first European DIC was created in 1960 and studies that describedlocal situation were identified in 1996 and 2001. Thereafter, in the United Statesthe first DIC was created in 1962 and 3 studies that describe DIC characteristicsand changes trough time were identified between 2003 and 2008. Moreover, DICswere created in Singapore in 1980 and in Venezuela in 1981. In India was createda DIC in 1997. Subsequently, the WHO performed workshops in 2006 in orderto create new centers in this country. In Asia was conducted a study in 1996 thatidentified 4 DIC. Concerning Latin America were found studies that describe localDIC from Brazil (2001) and Costa Rica (2003). Also, the network of Latin Americanand Caribbean DICs (REDCIMLAC) was created in 2011. In all consulted studies the DICs features were described including type of questions, professionals and infrastructure among others. Some of these studies included a comparison with the WHO technical document.

The role of drug information centers to improve medication safety in Saudi Arabia - a study from healthcare professionals' perspective

“…Finding the best evidence and interpreting the outcomes into clinically meaningful information that applied to specific patient was difficult ( Amundstuen et al, 2016 ). The primary function of the Drug Information Center (DIC) is to answer drug-related questions from healthcare professionals by identifying and interpreting scientific literature, then applies these findings to specific clinical situations and discusses possible solutions with the Enquirer (Amundsen et al, 2016; Al-Arifi et al, 2015 , Amundstuen Reppe et al, 2016 , Manosalva et al, 2016 ). According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), DIC are operational units that provide scientific information about drugs in timely manner ( Nova Manosalva et al, 2016 ).…”

“…The primary function of the Drug Information Center (DIC) is to answer drug-related questions from healthcare professionals by identifying and interpreting scientific literature, then applies these findings to specific clinical situations and discusses possible solutions with the Enquirer (Amundsen et al, 2016; Al-Arifi et al, 2015 , Amundstuen Reppe et al, 2016 , Manosalva et al, 2016 ). According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), DIC are operational units that provide scientific information about drugs in timely manner ( Nova Manosalva et al, 2016 ). Historically, the first drug information center in Saudi Arabia opened its doors in 1978, at King Saud university, college of pharmacy ( Alomi 2016 ).…”

Clinical-pharmacological drug information center of Hannover Medical School: experiences and analysis from a tertiary care university hospital

“…Drug information centers (DICs) are defined as “institution[s] dedicated to provide objective, independent and current information on drugs and their use, and communicate to the different categories of users for better understanding and benefit of patients” 1 . DICs play a key role in the dissemination of drug information (DI) to healthcare professionals all over the globe, thus promoting the rational use of drugs 1 , 2 . The first DIC was inaugurated at the University of Kentucky in the United States in 1962 3 , 4 , and numerous DICs followed in the United States and Europe throughout the 1960s to the 1980s 1 , 4 – 6 .…”

“…DICs play a key role in the dissemination of drug information (DI) to healthcare professionals all over the globe, thus promoting the rational use of drugs 1 , 2 . The first DIC was inaugurated at the University of Kentucky in the United States in 1962 3 , 4 , and numerous DICs followed in the United States and Europe throughout the 1960s to the 1980s 1 , 4 – 6 . Today, DICs are present in most countries worldwide 1 , also in emerging countries such as India 7 – 11 , Nepal 12 , Brazil 13 , Uganda 14 , or Ethiopia 15 – 17 .…”

National Survey of Drug Information Centers Practice in Saudi Arabia: Medication-Use Evaluation System at Ministry of Health Hospitals

“…Most of the local or international study of drug information center not included detail about drug utilization evaluation system [10]. In addition to the group of drug information centers or network did not contain detail manner of medication utilization evaluation [11][12][13][14][15][16]. There insufficient studies about that and the authors not familiar with local published investigated in Saudi Arabia or Gulf and Middle East countries [17,18].…”