Information seeking behavior and awareness among physicians regarding drug information centers in Saudi Arabia
Main Article Content
Keywords
Drug Information Services, Information Seeking Behavior, Awareness, Physicians, Reference Books, Surveys and Questionnaires, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Background: The role of Drug Information Center (DIC) in a health-care setting has increased tremendously owing to the high influx of pharmaceutical molecules that pose serious challenges to physicians. DIC promotes rational prescribing behavior among physicians, leading to better patient outcome.
Objectives: This study aimed to explore information-seeking behaviors and awareness of physicians regarding DIC services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians working in government and private sectors between June to November 2018 by using an 18-item electronic anonymous questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using IBM SPSS (Version 21). A P-value of <0.05 was taken as the level of significance between responses.
Results: In total, 500 questionnaires were distributed among the included hospitals, and only 254 physicians (response rate: 50.8%), including 193 males (76%), participated in the study. The majority of participants (n = 83, 32.7%) had more than ten years of experience, and many of the respondents (n=131) worked as residents. Most of the physicians (62.9%) were aware of their institutional DIC. UpToDate was the most preferred drug information database among physicians. Regarding the improvement required in the DIC services, most of the physicians (23.6%) opined that the contact details should be available in all clinical wards.
Conclusions: Only 10% of the respondents were not aware of the presence of DIC at their institution. The UpToDate online drug information database was the most frequently used database by the physicians. Our findings showed that there is a need for conducting educational programs for physicians regarding DIC services. Such an attempt can increase the frequency of drug-related queries and promote patient safety.
References
2. Ghaibi S, Ipema H, Gabay M; American Society of Health System Pharmacists. Pharmacists ASHP guidelines on the pharmacist’s role in providing drug information. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2015;72(7):573-577. https://doi.org/10.2146/sp150002
3. Abou-Auda HS. Information-seeking behaviors and attitudes of physicians toward drug information centers in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J. 2008;29(1):107-115.
4. Rosenberg JM, Koumis T, Nathan JP, Cicero LA, McGuire H. Current status of pharmacist-operated drug information centers in the United States. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2004;61(19):2023-2032. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/61.19.2023
5. Smith R. A POEM a week for the BMJ. BMJ. 2002;325(7371):983. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7371.983
6. Almazrou DA, Ali S, Alzhrani JA. Assessment of Queries Received by the Drug Information Center at King Saud Medical City. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2017;9(4):246-250. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_166_17
7. Oshikoya KA, Oreagba I, Adeyemi O. Sources of drug information and their influence on the prescribing behaviour of doctors in a teaching hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. Pan Afr Med J. 2011;9:13. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2011.9.13.478
8. Gharibyar H, Sharif Y. Evaluation of pharmaceutical drug information brochures in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). J Pharm Health Serv Res. 2012;3(1):57-62. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-8893.2011.00071.x
9. Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia. Health Indicators for the year of 1431 H. Available at: https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/Ministry/Statistics/Indicator/Pages/Indicator-2012-01-10-0001.aspx (accessed Mar 10, 2019).
10. Alomi YA, Almudaiheem HY, Alarnous T, Alshurei S, Alsharafa A, Alzahrani T, Albassri H, Alenizi K, Alreshedi M, Alathan M, Aljohany N. Cost-Efficiency of national drug information center through Ministry of Health hotline calling services (937) in Saudi Arabia application of a Mercian Model. Value Health. 2015;18(7):A735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jval.2015.09.2815
11. Ranking Question. SurveyMonkey Inc. Available at: https://help.surveymonkey.com/articles/en_US/kb/How-do-I-create-a-Ranking-type-question (accessed Mar 10, 2019).
12. Alamri SA, Ali Al Jaizani R, Naqvi AA, Ghamdi MSA.Assessment of drug information service in public and private sector tertiary care hospitals in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Pharmacy (Basel). 2017;5(3):37.
13. World Health Organization and Global Health Observa-tory (GHO), Male to Female Ratio of Physicians Density per 1000 Population, Latest Available Year. Available at: http://www.who.int/gho/health_workforce/physicians_density_gender_text/en/index.html (accessed Mar 10, 2019).
14. Healthcare personal statistics-physicians. Eurostat Statistics Explained. Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Healthcare_personnel_statistics_-_physicians (accessed Mar 10, 2019).
15. Gharibyar H, Sharif Y, Al-Quasme K, Fahmy S. Physicians perception of drug information resources in the emirate of Abu Dhabi – UAE. J Pharmacol Pharm. 2013, 4, 52-56. http://doi.org/10.4236/pp.2013.41007
16. Hoogendam A, Stalenhoef AF, Robbé PF, Overbeke AJ. Answers to questions posed during daily patient care are more likely to be answered by UpToDate than PubMed. J Med Internet Res. 2008;10(4):e29. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1012
17. Drug information resources and literature retrieval. American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Available online: https://www.accp.com/docs/meetings/UT18/handouts/Drug_Information_Resources_and_Literature_Retrieval_Supplemental_Chapter_PH.pdf (accessed Mar 10, 2019).
18. Isaac T, Zheng J, Jha A. Use of UpToDate and outcomes in US hospitals. J Hosp Med. 2012;7(2):85-90. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhm.944
19. Sayyah Ensan L, Faghankhani M, Javanbakht A, Ahmadi SF, Baradaran HR. To compare PubMed Clinical Queries and UpToDate in teaching information mastery to clinical residents: a crossover randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e23487. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0023487
20. Hazra A, Sen A, Roy S. One year experience of drug information service in the NGO sector. Ind J Pharmacol. 2001;33: 44-45.
21. George B, Rao PG. Assessment and evaluation of drug information services provided in a South Indian teaching hospital. Indian J Pharmacol. 2005;37:315-319.
22. Ali AA, Mohd Yusoff S, Mohd Joffry S, Wahab MA. Drug information service awareness program and its impact on characteristics of inquiries at DIS unit in Malaysian public hospital. Arch Pharm Pract. 2013;4:9-14.
23. Gettig JP, Jordan JK, Sheehan AH. A survey of current perceptions of drug information practice and training. Hosp Pharm. 2009;44:325-331.
24. Funkhouser E, Fellows JL, Gordan VV, Rindal DB, Foy PJ, Gilbert GH; National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Collaborative Group. Supplementing online surveys with a mailed option to reduce bias and improve response rate: the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network. J Public Health Dent. 2014;74(4):276-282. https://doi.org/10.1111/jphd.12054
25. De Leeuw ED. Counting and measuring online: The quality of internet surveys. Bull Sociol Methodol. 2012;114(1): 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0759106312437290
26. Van Selm M, Jankowski NW. Conducting online surveys. Qual Quant. 2006;40(3):435-456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-005-8081-8
27. Fincham JE. Response rates and responsiveness for surveys, standards, and the Journal. Am J Pharm Educ. 2008;72(2):43. https://doi.org/10.5688/aj720243
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.