Many drug information services struggle to generate demand. Less established drug information services create challenges in training students with drug information abilities. As queries decrease, resources become underutilized. With shortened resources, the service needs to improve to meet demand when it arises. The drug information services and training are to be developed in a more feasible approach. The study used an interview-based effectiveness evaluation method. Drug information provided by pharmacy students to physicians at a United Arab Emirates teaching hospital was assessed for quality. As part of clinical pharmacy training, proactive drug information service was provided and assessed for its effectiveness regarding physician satisfaction. In a decentralized, proactive approach, instead of waiting for a physician query, pharmacy students with their preceptor identified drug information needs in inpatients, prepared answers, and interviewed physicians for feedback. This was an exploratory qualitative interview-based study. Fifteen responses of physicians from internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, and obstetrics were received in a month. Students' performances were accepted by physicians for 13 cases out of 15. Students demonstrated abilities to practice drug information service under the supervision of a pharmacy preceptor. Physician feedback, preceptor evaluation, and student self-reflection in triangulation demonstrated the effectiveness of the rotation. The drug information service was accepted by physicians expressing their positive written feedback. Proactive drug information service in training pharmacy students at the study site was found to be effective. More research is required to establish more proactive drug information services in hospitals.
Drug Information Services, Pharmacy, Physicians, Evidence-Based Pharmacy Practice.
Thomas, D., Zachariah, S., Rashed, M. M., Rosalia, R., Atta, N. E., and Baker, D. (2024). Proactive Drug Information Training for Pharmacy Students in a Teaching Hospital. Dale View's Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics, 1(1), 21-27.