title: Drug information centre--analysis of activities of a regional centre.
abstract: Description and evaluation of a drug information centre's (DIC) professional activities one year after establishment are summarized. The aims of the centre are: to evaluate which problem areas are frequently requested, how frequently and by whom; which information sources are the most appropriate for the service and the approximate cost of such a service. We received 80 questions during the first 8 months. The questions were mainly asked by hospital physicians (32.5%) and pharmacists (32.5%), other health-care professionals were a minority; the scopes of most frequently asked questions include general properties of active substances (12.2%), contents of particular preparations (21%), dosage (11%), side effects (21%) and indications/contraindications (15%). Cost of the service included variable (mainly phone and mail charges, copy and print of the documents) and fixed costs (cost of software and salary of the staff).
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Müllerová
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vlcek
mesh_terms: D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D000075202:Contraindications; D003308:Copying Processes / Q000191:economics; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D018153:Czech Republic; D004346:Drug Information Services / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis; D010595:Pharmacists; D010600:Pharmacology; D010820:Physicians; D011177:Postal Service / Q000191:economics; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D012984:Software / Q000191:economics; D013337:Students, Medical; D013689:Telephone / Q000191:economics
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations