A Survey of Drug Information Resources in Alabama Pharmacy Facilities

Abstract

Drug'mterocliontexts 204 33.8 R f w n t w n e t 1 02 16.9 uspa# 97 16.1 AHB § 73 121 M i i d X 54 8.9 14 2.3 bels indicated that Alabama had 1,197 retail/ community and 159 hospitaVmenta1 health pharmacies. Based on this estimate, the total survey return rates for these facilities were 34% and 46%, respectively. AVAILABLE RESOURCES BY ALL PHARMACIES Enumeration of available D1 resources for Alabama pharmacies was one of the major objectives for this study: Table 1 depicts the survey results of the resources in ascending order of availability for all pharmacies. Slightly over 90% of all pharmacies indicated that Drug Facts and Comparisons was available, and 51 % indicated that the PDR was available. Micromedex and Mosby's Drug Consult were the least available of the options provided. AVAILABLE RESOURCES BY PHARMACY TYPE Table 2 illustrates survey results for the major drug monograph texts available by pharmacy type. Table 3 also depicts resources by pharmacy type; however, these resources are more by groups of resources (eg, OTC references) rather than a specific single text, except for the Drug lnformation Handbook and Micromedex. RetaiVCommunity Pharmacies. The survey results (Table 2) indicated that Drug Facts and Comparisons had the highest availability among retail/community pharmacies, and slightly less than half (44.2%) indicated that they had the PDR. Of the 480 retail/community pharmacies that responded to the survey, half (50.8%) indicated that they had OTC references available (see Table 3). HospitaVMental Health Pharmacies. Drug Facts and Comparisons also had the highest (95.9%) availability (Table 2) among hospital/ mental health pharmacies; medicaVpharmacy journals were second with 60.8%, and the Drug Information Handbook (58.1%) had the highest availability among grouped references (Table 3). Other Pharmacies. The other pharmacy types group included compounding pharmacies, long-term care facilities, clinics, hospices, nuclear agencies, home infusion agencies, and so on. Again, Drug Facts and Comparisons (Table 2

Associations of gender and age groups on the knowledge and use of drug information resources by American pharmacists

“…"Adverse drug reactions and side effects" was the option most frequently chosen, followed by "dosing", then "compatibility and stability" (Table 3). In a recent publication, Schrimsher et al found that drug interactions, adverse reactions, and over-the-counter (OTC) questions were at the top of the list 42. Here men and women showed identical patterns, but differences were observed by age group.…”

“…Drug Facts and Comparisons (Facts & Comparisons), a print resource, was the second most frequently used reference. Two previous similar studies found that Facts & Comparisons was the reference most available to pharmacists 25,42. The Physician's Desk Reference, until recently a popular source of drug use information, was not selected by a single respondent.…”

Preparing Students for Community Pharmacy Practice During a Drug Information Advanced Practice Experience

“…A recent survey of 604 Alabama pharmacies demonstrated that over 90% of respondents reported availability of Drug Facts and Comparisons in the facility. 11 Although Alabama law suggests that pharmacies have the latest edition of Drug Facts and Comparisons, any reference or electronic media meeting the level of pharmacy practiced at the site will satisfy state laws for reference availability. 12 Surveys administered to community pharmacies in other states similarly have indicated that Drug Facts and Comparisons is the most frequently utilized resource.…”

Issues on Source, Access, Extent, and Quality of Information Available Among Pharmacists and Pharmacy Personnel to Practice Effectively

“…In Singapore, reference texts are still trusted by pharmacists (Wong, Ko, & Sklar, 2009). Even in the United States, a survey performed among Alabama pharmacy facilities indicated a high use of textbooks as medicine information resources such as Drug Facts and Comparisons and Physician's Desk Reference (Schrimsher, Freeman, & Kendrach, 2006). Clauson, Fass, and Seamon (2008a) explored the legal requirements for maintaining medicines information resources in pharmacies across the 50 states in the United States and found that two states, Minnesota and South Dakota (3.8% of states), required print references.…”