Evaluation of Drug Information Query Patterns in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Chengalpattu

Abstract

Drug information services support healthcare professionals in addressing patient-specific medication needs and promoting rational drug utilization. This study aims to evaluate the patterns of drug information inquiries among physicians, nurses, pharmacists, students, and other healthcare professionals in a tertiary care hospital. Over the course of three year, drug information queries were received, documented, and retrospectively analysed across several parameters, including the professional status of the requestor, mode of request and response, type and purpose of the query, and reference details. Out of 2651 queries received, the majority were answered by Physicians (n=796; 30.02%), followed by Interns (n=463; 17.46%), Nurses (n=359; 13.54%) Pharmacists (n=353; 13.31%) and Patients (n=291; 10.97%). The secondary resources like Micromedex (n=1124; 42.39%) and Medicines Complete (n=875; 33.01%) were used majorly. The most common drug related query was Pharmacological drug profile (n=743; 28.02%), Product dosage (n=429; 16.18%), Pharmacokinetics (n=349; 13.16%), Side-effects (n=312; 11.76%) and Therapeutic uses (n=224; 8.44%). Drug Information Services has been developed to promote rational prescribing patterns among prescribers, reduce medication errors and provide better clinical outcomes.