A systematic review of the clinical and economic impact of drug information services on patient outcome

Aim: to establish what is known about the clinical and economic impact of drug information (DI) services on patient outcome. Method: a systematic review and critical appraisal of world literature on work conducted by Drug Information Centres and UK Schools of Pharmacy.Results: six relevant published articles were recovered – three from the UK, two from the US and one from Canada; just one was prospective in design. Four were single-centre and two were multi-centre studies. Four studies relied heavily on questionnaire surveys of the enquirer to establish an effect; only one monitored patient outcome independently and used peer review to assess impact.Conclusion: the clinical and economic impact of drug information consultation and provision on patient care has not been investigated rigorously. A research methodology for such an investigation is suggested.

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