Questions Frequently Asked of Healthcare Professionals: A 2-Year Data Survey Conducted at a Medical Center

Abstract

In this descriptive, retrospective study, we analyzed the types of questions posed by healthcare professionals to drug counselors at a medical center and the types of provision of pharmaceutical advice solicited to improve pharmaceutical care quality and establish clear directions for clinical pharmacist training. We collected 8,558 questions posed by healthcare professionals (physicians, 38%; pharmacists, 39%; nurses, 23%) from the electronic drug information record system from May 2013 to April 2015 in one medical center. Overall, 52% and 45% of calls came from outpatient and inpatient departments, respectively. Telephone was the main route of provision of pharmaceutical advice (total, 6,035 questions; 72%), and hospital/electronic formulary was the main reference type (43%). The top 10 topics were dosage, alternatives, drug name, usage, adverse drug reactions, medication suggestion, drug compatibility, national health insurance criteria, mechanism, and indications. Pharmacological classification inquiries most frequently addressed antimicrobial agents (20%), and vancomycin was the top single drug. Finally, 67% of calls were completed in 5 minutes. Our results suggest that the systematic organization of issues into a searchable database would reduce inquiry durations and improve work efficiency. Furthermore, the availability of various search tools and methods would quickly provide healthcare professionals with provision of drug information needed to improve patient medication safety.

Needs and Utilization of Drug-Information Resources of Healthcare Providers in an Academic Tertiary Care Center

“…This report is consistent with our findings, which may reflect the same setting and level of care of both centers [18]. Another study found that the most frequent need in terms of drug information from HCPs in Hong Kong was related to drug doses and alternative medicine [19]. Alternative medicine is commonly used in Asian countries, reflecting the prevalent use of these remedies in Asian people.…”

Investigation of Queries Related to Antimicrobial Agents Use in a Tertiary Hospital from 2015 to 2018

“…Although this contradicted the previous findings of Chi-Lien Hou et al, who reported that vancomycin was the single drug most inquired about at a medical center in Taiwan [21], this is not surprising, considering that vancomycin resistance is more prevalent in developed countries [28], whereas Saudi Arabia experiences greater prevalence of clindamycin resistance instead [29,30]. These facts could explain variations in most requested antimicrobial agents while reaffirming that resistance drives the majority of drug information center inquiries.…”

“…About 21% of requests made to the DPIC at Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were related to antimicrobial agents, making them the primary reason for contacting DPIC. A previous study analyzing inquiries made to drug information centers from 2013 to 2015 found that questions relating to antimicrobial agents accounted for 20% of questions received [21]. These results validate the importance of healthcare training regarding the use of antimicrobial agents to combat resistance at multiple levels [22].…”

Prescriber-Initiated Engagement of Pharmacists for Information and Intervention in Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly

“…As drug information experts, pharmacists can help solve this potential problem. Broadly, evidence indicates that when prescribers have an opportunity to collaborate with pharmacists, they pose drug information inquiries (DIIs) [7][8][9][10][11]. Moreover, information-seeking behavior can improve prescribing practices and patient outcomes, such as mortality [12][13][14][15].…”

“…However, this study involved complex inquiries that do not necessarily represent the types of questions that arise during routine practice, and this study's findings may not adequately represent the drug information needs of PCOAs practicing in the United States [9]. Other recent investigations into this subject matter exist but did not analyze DIIs made specifically during the care of older adults [7,8,[16][17][18].…”