Expansion of drug information services in response to an increased clerkship teaching load

Use of drug information resources by the community pharmacist in Penang, Malaysia

“…1 Early articles discussed ways for pharmacists to provide unsolicited drug consultations on patients in the hope that physicians would eventually come to rely on pharmacists as a useful drug information source. [2][3][4][5][6] Due to consumer empowerment, the increasing number of drugs and the complexity of modern therapeutics 6 (such as adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions or drug use during pregnancy and lactation) it is the role of the pharmacist to reply to the queries of consumers and healthcare professionals.…”

Drug Information: From Education to Practice

“…Recent studies characterizing the activities of drug information centers have found conflicting results regarding the number of telephone inquires, with some reporting an increase in call volume and others a decrease. 4,29 Some of the observed decrease in call volume may be attributed to an increased accessibility to electronic resources in many practice settings. It was recently documented that although the number of requests decreased, the complexity of the requests increased, requiring more time and resources compared with requests in previous years.…”

“…4 In addition, drug information centers are involved in training PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residents, including drug information specialty residents. 4,10,29 The teaching component of drug information centers is increasingly important as the number of pharmacy schools increase and enrollment increases nationwide. 31,32 All drug information centers should be encouraged to serve as training sites.…”