Ka. Calis et al., Quality of pharmacotherapy consultations provided by drug information centers in the United States, PHARMACOTHE, 20(7), 2000, pp. 830-836
We evaluated the performance of 116 U.S. drug information centers in respon
ding to specific questions about drugs. The primary measures were correctne
ss of responses and extent of probing for patient data. Questions addressed
the effect of ranitidine on blood alcohol concentrations, the potential in
teraction between didanosine and dapsone, prevention of nonsteroidal antiin
flammatory drug (NSAID)-induced peptic ulcers, and use of erythromycin for
diabetic gastroparesis. The percentages of centers providing correct overal
l responses were 70% for the ranitidine question, 90% for the didanosine-da
psone question, 8% for the NSAID question, and 20% for the erythromycin que
stion. For the three patient-specific questions, the percentages of centers
eliciting vital patient data were 27% for the didanosine-dapsone question,
86% for the NSAID question, and 5% for the erythromycin question. In provi
ding pharmacotherapy consultations, drug information centers generally fail
ed to obtain pertinent patient data, thereby risking incorrect responses an
d inappropriate recommendations.