PHARMACY INFORMATICS: DRUG INFORMATION: BEGINNING AND EVOLUTION

Medication information ○ Managing investigational medication

● may be patient-specific or developed for a use
given patient population ○ Providing poison information
○ Coordinating ADR reporting
● i.e. therapeutic guidelines, coordination of
ADR reports, publication of newsletter, or ○ Providing education
updating a website, The Evolution
● provision of this information is one of the ● Focus has shifted to
fundamental responsibilities of a 1. medication safety
pharmacist 2. advances in informatics
○ Cost-effective medication selection 3. evidence-based medicine
and use 4. new environments of care
○ Medication policy decisions
(1) Medication safety
○ Resource selection
● To collect and evaluate ADRs
○ Practice-related issues
○ May expand due to increase number
Drug informatics of ADEs
● Electronic management of drug i. New medications and new
information indications
● Use of technology to effectively organize, ii. Growing elderly population
analyze, manage, and communicate iii. Increase use of medications for
information on medication use in patients disease prevention
○ Electronic health record (EHR) iv. Improved insurance coverage
○ Telemedicine for medications
○ Social media (2) Advances in informatics
○ Computerized physician order entry ● Allows user to easily access the scientific
(CPOE) literature, government publications, news
The Beginning reports, etc.
● 1st DIC - University of Kentucky Medical ○ No lag time for information
Center dissemination
○ No need to travel to library
● Drug Information Specialist - person ○ Access to millions of articles quickly -
responsible for the information of the online repository (PubMed)
center
● Handheld devices are available at the point
● Services offered starts from retrieval, of care
selection, evaluation, and dissemination of
information from formalized centers to ● Use of social media, emails, forums, and
other medication information services blogs simplified the exchange of news and
outside the center share opinions
○ Coordinating PTC activity ● 85% of physician respondent had
○ Publishing information thru experienced a patient bringing internet
newsletters, journal columns, information to a visit
websites, emails, etc.

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 PHARMACY INFORMATICS: DRUG INFORMATION: BEGINNING AND EVOLUTION

○ Wikipedia vs. Medscape Drug functionality, patient preferences),

Reference - free, online, evidence- and efficiency
based, peer-reviewed
● Sophistication of medication therapy
● Intranet - network that belongs to an ○ Assess medication information needs
organization and is designed to be and providing literature to help
accessible only by the organization choose the best medication, to convey
○ Computerized medical records and appropriate information, and to
order entry systems address administration and delivery
○ Information specialists can problems
incorporate automated interventions -
Self-care movement
safety and education
● DTCA (direct-to-consumer advertising) -
○ CDSS - clinical decision support system
empower patients to have a more active
(3) Evidence-based medicine role in their own health care
○ Increase use of advertised drug vs. less
expensive alternative
○ Patients may lack skills to evaluate
medical information

(4) New environments of care - specialty

practice

1. Contract DIC (Fee-For-Service)

○ Potential clients include managed care
groups, contract pharmacy services,
Patient preferences federal or state government,
(3) Evidence-based medicine pharmacy benefits managers, buying
● Understand medication information groups, attorneys, pharmaceutical
concepts and skills industry, small hospitals, chain
pharmacies, independent pharmacies
● Evaluate medication use issues for a group ○ Charges a fee per question or
of patients dependent on the number and types
of services
● Be able to search, retrieve, and critically
1. Medication information requests
evaluate the scientific literature
2. Preparation of new drug
● Used to develop QA tools - therapeutic evaluation monographs
guidelines, clinical pathways, medication 3. Formulary drug class reviews
use evaluations, disease state management 4. Development of medication use
- to improve patient outcomes and evaluation criteria
decrease costs 5. Pharmacoeconomic evaluations
6. Guideline development for a
● Outcomes research - uses scientific rigor to
particular disease
determine which interventions are best;
7. Writing a pharmacotherapy
effectiveness research
publication
○ Pharmacoeconomics - assess cost,
consequences (QOL, patient
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 PHARMACY INFORMATICS: DRUG INFORMATION: BEGINNING AND EVOLUTION

8. Providing continuing education 6. Academia

programming ● Pharmacy curriculum - didactic and
experiential training
2. Medical informatics in a health system
● Support patient-care activities by ● Teaching medication information skills
improving efficiency of workflow
7. Scientific writing and medical
● Increasing access to patient-specific communication
information and the medical literature ● Patient education materials

3. Managed care pharmacy ● Journal articles

● Develop and implement mechanisms
● Regulatory documents
to support cost-effective selection
● Poster presentations
● Insurance industry
● Grant proposals
● health maintenance organizations
● Sales and marketing of
● State and national government
pharmaceuticals
agencies (Medicare, Medicaid)
● Drug evaluation monographs
4. Poison control
● Provide accurate and timely All pharmacists must be effective medication
information to enhance the quality of information providers regardless of their
care to patients practice site.
○ Management of every poison -
household products, poisonous
plants and animals, medications,
chemicals
○ Urgent - response time of 5
minutes
○ Correctly assess the situation
○ Communicate in comprehensive,
concise, and accurate manner

5. Pharmaceutical industry
● Answer drug information questions

● Report and monitor ADRs

● Educate health professionals

● Interact with sales and marketing

● Participate in regulatory affairs issues

● Handle product complaints

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