Review of a Drug Information Service in an Indian Teaching Hospital

Aim: To describe a review of drug information activities in a teaching hospital in Mysore, India.Method: Drug information enquiry forms were reviewed for a 6‐month period. Randomly selected enquiries were audited by experienced clinical pharmacists.Results: 370 enquiries were handled at an average of 62 per month. Most enquiries were from doctors (52%) and postgraduate medical students (30% ). Questions most frequently related to administration/dosage (30%) and adverse drug reactions (27% ). Standard textbooks were used for 64% of enquiries. Of the 16 enquiries directly audited, 15 were rated as good or excellent and 1 as ‘can improve’.Conclusions: The service was well used. In developing countries, it is important to establish independent drug information centres beginning with basic resources. Output should be monitored with quality assurance programs.