Objective: Relatively little is known about the organized drug information
centres (DICs) in Asia. Here we evaluate the four pharmacist-operated DICs
in Singapore and compare them with published information on DICs located in
Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., and with established guidelines for qual
ity assurance of DICs.
Methods: A prospective survey was conducted in 1996 in which two sets of qu
estionnaires were developed and distributed to the DIC pharmacists to elici
t information on the DIC as well as the DIC pharmacists. In addition, the e
nquiry records received by the DICs over the period 1 April to 31 July 1996
were collated for evaluation.
Results: All the pharmacist-operated DICs in Singapore were well equipped w
ith facilities for information retrieval, storage and dissemination, and th
ey had adequate literature resources comparable with DICs in Australia, the
U.K. and the U.S. They also complied with many of the DIC guidelines compi
led by The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, except for the ins
titution of formal quality assurance programmes, which was lacking in all c
entres. The professional activities of the local DIC pharmacists were also
similar to their counterparts in Australia, the U.K. and U.S., but the job
scope could be expanded to include other activities that are gaining impetu
s among other DIC pharmacists. Postgraduate professional training of pharma
cists was inadequate compared with the specialist training received by DIC
pharmacists in the U.S. A total of 2517 enquiries were collated for evaluat
ion. Physicians were the major class (47-57%) of enquirers in the local hos
pitals. The classes of questions received by the DICs were not different fr
om those received by DICs elsewhere, although the DICs in the hospitals rec
eived a preponderance of questions on dose (20-25%) and product availabilit
y (13-16%). More than 60% of enquiries received by the DICs in the hospital
s were answered within 5 min, while about 80% of the enquiries required ref
erence to not more than one literature resource.
Conclusions: The pharmacist-operated DICs in Singapore have comparable stan
dards to established DICs in Australia, the U.K. and U.S., while the worklo
ad and activities of the local DIC pharmacists are similar to their counter
parts in these countries. It is recommended that the DICs institute formal
quality assurance programmes and expand the training and job scope of the D
IC pharmacists.