Evaluation of Electronic Information Resources for Questions Received by a College of Pharmacy Drug Information Center
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Evaluation of Electronic Information Resources for Questions Received by a College of Pharmacy Drug Information Center
Lamya S. Alnaim, PharmD Lecturer, Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia Nermeen N. Abuelsoud, MSc Clinical Pharmacy Lecturer, Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia
Key Words AltaVista search engine; drug information; drug information resources; DRUGDEX; Lexi-Comp. Correspondence Address Lamya S. Alnaim, P.O. Box 4143, Riyadh 11149, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: [email protected]).
This study evaluated different electronic information resources by comparing the time required to find an answer to a drug information question in addition to the ease of use, comprehensiveness, and availability of information in three databases: DRUGDEX, Lexi-Drugs, and the Internet search engine AltaVista. The study was conducted at the Drug Information Center of the College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Answers to 100 questions were searched using all resources, and results for each question were compared to original answers. The mean time to find the answer was 1.70 ± 1.19, 1.39 ± 0.93, and 5.85 ± 4.52 minutes using DRUGDEX, Lexi-Drugs, and AltaVista, respectively. In terms of ease of use, DRUGDEX easily an-
INTRODUCTION As more and more information becomes available, the use of information technology has become commonplace. The rate at which new medications are approved and marketed all over the world makes it impossible for clinicians to keep abreast of all information. Consequently, the drug information pharmacist’s role has expanded. Pharmacists are often the first providers of information about drugs, whether to patients or other health care professionals (1). In addition to counseling patients, pharmacists advise other health professionals about effects, like interaction and side effects. As a consequence, a pharmacist must know how to efficiently and quickly find accurate and complete drug information without the need for searching through stacks of print resources or spend hours using a computer. Drug information resources readily available at the point of care are increasingly becoming standard of practice. Access to drug information resources in health care systems and hospitals
swered 78% of questions versus 95% and 55% answered easily by Lexi-Drugs and AltaVista, respectively (P < .05). For comprehensiveness, 77% versus 64% and 73% of the questions were well covered by DRUGDEX, Lexi-Drugs, and AltaVista, respectively (P > .05), while respective availability of answers was 77% versus 74% and 86% (P > .05). The study concluded that DRUGDEX and Lexi-Drugs are faster, more efficient drug information databases. All three databases were comparable regarding comprehensiveness and availability of information. Using the Internet through the search engine AltaVista in addition to print drug information resources appears to be an acceptable alternative to DRUGDEX and L
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