Course Title: Drug Informatics

Course ECTS: 3 ECTS

Abera J. (B.Pharm, MSc in Clinical
Pharmacy)
2 Course Objectives
After completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Rapidly locate and evaluate drug information sources,
• Systematically manage and communicate drug information,
• Apply drug information knowledge for preparation and management of
formularies, guidelines and bulletins,
• Provide drug information to health care professionals and Pts on the
rational use of drugs,
• Compare and contrast online resources to printed resources, and
• Differentiate between primary, secondary and tertiary literature.
4

1. Introduction to the concept of

Drug Information
5 Introduction to the concept of DI Outline

 Definitions of basic terms

 The evolution of drug information…..Reading Assignment
 Medication information services & skills
 Factors influencing the evolution of the pharmacist’s
role as a medication information provider
 Opportunities in specialty practices
---
Evaluation of Drug Information
Definition: Evaluation of drug information involves critically analyzing information related to drugs to ensure it is accurate, reliable, unbiased, and applicable to patient care.
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Objectives:
Assess the quality and relevance of drug information.
Differentiate between credible and non-credible sources.
Apply evaluated information to clinical decision-making.
---
Steps in Evaluating Drug Information:
1. Assess the Source:
Primary: Original research articles (e.g., clinical trials).
Secondary: Indexing and abstracting services (e.g., PubMed).
Tertiary: Summarized references (e.g., textbooks, Micromedex).
2. Evaluate the Authority:
Who is the author/publisher?
Are they qualified?
Is it peer-reviewed?
3. Check the Accuracy:
Is the information supported by evidence?
Are references cited?
Are data and conclusions consistent?
4. Assess the Currency:
When was it published or updated?
Are newer findings available?
5. Evaluate the Objectivity:
Is there any bias (e.g., pharmaceutical sponsorship)?
Are all therapeutic options discussed?
6. Clinical Relevance:
Is the info applicable to your patient population or clinical setting?
---
Common Evaluation Tools:
CRAAP Test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose)
Critical appraisal checklists (e.g., CASP, GRADE)
---
Challenges in Evaluation:
Misinformation online
Predatory journals

6
Incomplete data in abstracts
Bias in industry-sponsored studies
---
Application in Practice:
Answering clinical questions
Supporting formulary decisions
Patient counseling
Evidence-based practice
---
Would you like this in PowerPoint format or with examples like evaluating a sample journal article or online drug monograph?
7 Introduction to DI
 Traditionally, drug informatics is the use of
computer to manage drug-data or drug information
(DI) by the means of drug information technology;
 Currently, it is the provision of unbiased, well-
referenced, and critically evaluated information
on drug-related issues to improve health
outcomes.
8 Introduction to DI …
 The provision of DI is among the most fundamental
responsibilities of all pharmacists;
 DI may be patient-specific or developed for a given
patient population, such as:
Development of therapeutic guidelines,

Coordination of ADE reporting and monitoring

programs,
Publication of newsletters, or updating
9 Introduction to DI …
 The pharmacist can serve as a resource for issues
regarding cost, medication selection/use, medication
policy decisions, medical and DI resource selection and
education;
Drug information:
 An information found in a reference or articulated by an
individual that pertains to medications;
 It comprises:
A body of biomedical literature (facts & information);
A set of skills…….that provide pharmacy professionals
with the ability to access, communicate information
and acquire knowledge.
10 Introduction to DI …
The term DI contextualizes by connecting it with other
words;

 Specialist/practitioner/pharmacist/provider: a
person whose job is to respond to DI questions.

 Centre/service/practice: A unit designed for receiving,

collecting, analyzing, and providing unbiased, accurate
and up-to-date information about drugs and their use.

 Functions/Skills: Activities and abilities of individuals

to provide DI services.
11 Introduction to DI …
 Drug Information Center (DIC):
A facility specifically reserve for, and specializing in
provision of DI
 Drug Information Services (DIS):
Activities undertaken by pharmacists in providing
information to optimize drug use, the term also
includes but not limited to, the specialized services
offered by a drug information center.
 Drug Information Specialists:
The individual responsible for operation of the
DIC…the one who store, retrieve, select, evaluate,
and disseminate DI
12 DIC Establishment
 DIC will be established at national level in EFDA, at
regions in Regional Health Bureaus and at Hospitals
and Health centers.

 What must be fulfilled to establish DIC?

A. DI trained personnel
B. Adequate size building and furniture
C. Telephone line
D. Internet access
E. Equipped with computer, required software and
F. Necessary reference materials.
13 Introduction to DI …
Pharmacy Informatics:
 Focuses on the use of information, information systems, and
automation technology to ensure safe and effective
medication usage
 e.g., electronic health record (HMIS), computerized
provider order entry (CPOE), e-Prescribing, clinical
decision support systems (CDSS) etc.
 Orders entered via a CPOE system communicated to
the medical staff & appropriate departments over a
computer network
 Eliminates illegible handwriting, decreases
medical errors as well as the delay in order
completion, improves Pt care.
15 Introduction to DI …
 The two broad categories of information used in
pharmacy informatics/other clinical informatics domains:

a) Pt-specific information: medical histories, lab. tests

results, radiology interpretations, physical assessments,
medication and other information that is unique to the
specific Pt;

b) knowledge-based information: referential information

(about medications, procedures, disease states, etc.),
clinical practice guidelines etc.
16 Why DI from Centers to
 Biomedical Practitioners?
literatures are growing rapidly in size and
complexity.

 As a report of Study Commission on Pharmacy, 1975

“….. among deficiencies in health care system, one is the

unavailability of adequate information for those who:
consume, prescribe, dispense & administer drugs

-> this deficiency has resulted in inappropriate

drug use and an unacceptable frequency of drug-induced
disease”.
17 Why DI from Centers to
Practitioners?...
 Accordingly the responsibilities of individual pharmacists
regarding the provision of DI have changed substantially as
consultants of:
Medication use process, drug interactions or adverse
effects of new or existing medications;
Publications in the area of therapeutic guidelines or
other drug policy initiatives (authored by a pharmacist);

 Currently, the education and training of pharmacists

also developed to meet these important responsibilities.
18

A. Medication safety

B. Advances in pharmacy informatics

C. Evidence-based medicine

D. Formulary management

E. Medication policy development

19

A. Medication Safety: Adverse Drug Events (ADE)

 Impact of ADEs on Pt health and economic

implications:

 In US, annually an estimated 700,000 emergency room

visits and ~120,000 hospitalizations attributed to ADEs,

 An annual extra cost of 3.5 billion dollar to the

health care system

 40% of these events are considered to be

preventable.
20

 ADE….in Africa

 The median prevalence of ADE during hospitalization was;

 7.8% (IQR: 4.2–21.4%) in general Pts

 74.2% (IQR: 54.1–90.7%) among specific Pts.

 From this, 43.5% and 12.4% of ADEs being preventable in general and specific Pts,
respectively.
(Nyame L. et al., Variation of adverse drug events in different settings in Africa: a systematic
review. Eur J Med Res 29, 333 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-024-01934-0)
21

B. Integration of new Health Information Technologies

 All medical records are standardized and electronic

 Pharmacy informatics as an integral tool to management

and integration of medication-related data that spans across
systems and supports the medication-use process

Incorporating automated interventions such as computer-

based clinical decision support systems &
computerized provider order entry.
22

Growth of information technology

 The internet allows individuals to easily access information
 An increasing demand by clinician, as well as the consumer
to access information:
 New medication becomes commercially available
 Withdrawn from the market for safety reasons
 Released data from a new study
 Accuracy of DI on the internet (using sites that are sponsored
by a variety of companies & individuals with diverse interests)??
 Information may be incomplete or inaccurate

--> May result in harmful practice

23

C. Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)

 Evidence-based Pt-centered health care delivery as a key
feature of high-quality medical care
 To develop & implement various quality assurance tools (e.g.,
therapeutic guidelines, clinical path ways, medication-
use evaluations) in an effort to improve Pt outcomes &
decrease costs across the health care system
---> Give emphasis to need for DI expert
24

D. Sophistication of Medication Therapy (Formulary Mgt)

 As the types and sophistication of medication therapy

continues to evolve,
this will present challenges for Pts, family members,
and health care providers seeking information on these
emerging therapies.

 Provides pharmacist much more opportunity to lend

their expertise:
To assess DI needs, search, analyze and retrieve
appropriate literature, and apply information to Pts.
25

E. Rise in the Self-care Movement (Medication Policy)

 Pts participate in their health care decisions, including the
selection & use of medications
 Pts are increasingly interested in finding information
regarding their medications from

• Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) campaigns through

magazines, television, through e-mail, search engine marketing on
specific websites, and radio reports
 Pharmacists are in an excellent position to interpreting this
DTCA to determine what information is applicable to their
26 Medication Information Services (DIS)
 A drug information center or specialist may be involved in one
or all of these functions:
 Supporting clinical services with DI;
 Answering questions regarding medications;
 Coordinating pharmacy & therapeutics committee activity
 Coordinating formulary management initiatives;
 Publishing or editing information on appropriate medication
use through newsletters, journals, Web sites
 Developing and educating health care professionals on
medication use policies
27 Medication Information Services
 (DIS)..
Analyzing the clinical & economic impact of drug policy
decisions
 Providing education for health professionals, students, and
consumers
 Developing criteria/guidelines for medication use
 Managing medication use evaluation
 Managing investigational medication use

e.g., institutional review board activities, information for

practitioners
 Coordinating of ADE reporting and analysis programs
28 Medication Information
A Skills
pharmacist should keep… when confronted with a drug
information question:
 Access available information and gather situational data
needed to characterize question or issue
 Assess the level of urgency & extent of the needs for
information
 Formulate appropriate question(s)
 Use a systematic approach to find needed information
 Evaluate information critically for validity and applicability
 Develop, organize, and summarize response for question
 Communicate clearly when speaking or writing, at an
appropriate level of understanding
 Anticipate other information needs and follow-up
29 Ethical Provision of Drug Information
 Information provided should not be conflicting between
the needs of audience and legal or public health
consideration;
 Information provided should not violate relationship
between the Prescriber/Dispenser and the Pt;
 The center shall not give information on chemical
entities whose therapeutic merits are not yet provide
and not released to the market for public
consumption;
 Shall provide DI for medico-legal cases;
 The center shall provide independent information and
without having in advertising a particular product;
 The center shall provide reliable, accurate, up-to-date
30 Opportunities of MI
 A
Specialist
MI specialist: whose primary responsibility is the
provision of unbiased and well referenced drug
information to improve Pt outcomes & decrease health care
costs

 The role of the specialist has changed from an individual

who specifically answers questions:

to one who focuses on the development of medication

policies and provides information on complex
medication information questions
31 Opportunities of MI
Specialist…
Area of Leadership & Career Opportunities

 Health system pharmacies (e.g., hospital pharmacy)

 A contract drug information center

 Pharmacy informatics in a health system

 Managed care organizations (e.g., health maintenance

organizations)

 Scientific writing & medical communications

 Poison control

 Pharmaceutical industry, and academia.

32 Opportunities of MI
Specialist…
Institutional Health-system Drug Information Services

 Managing the formulary system, medication safety

programs, medication usage evaluation, and medication
policy development and management

 Improve Pt outcomes & decrease health care costs

through the provision of unbiased information

that supports rational, cost-effective, Pt- and disease-

specific medication therapy.
33 Opportunities of MI
Specialist…
Contracted Drug Information Center (fee-for-service)
 Providing answers to MI requests
 Preparing new drug evaluation monographs or class reviews
 Developing medication-use evaluation criteria
 Preparing pharmacoeconomic evaluations
 Developing guidelines for a particular disease
 Writing a pharmacotherapy publication e.g., Website, etc
 Providing continuing education programming

* The cost may be decided based on the number and types of

services chosen by the contracting party
34 Opportunities of MI Specialist…
Pharmacy informatics in a health system
 An individual who has advanced DI skills with a keen understanding of
computer and information technology
 Support patient care activities by improving the efficiency of
workflow
 Increasing access to Pt-specific information and the medical
literature through technology to remote site
 Increasing opportunities for applying computer technology, using
clinical decision support system (SDSS), to enhance many aspects
of the medication use process
35 Opportunities of MI
Specialist…
Managed care organizations:

 Health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit

management organizations, state and national government
agencies (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, medical insurance programs
in the US)

 interested in the cost-efficient use of medications

 Support the cost-effective selection and use of medications

managed pharmacy organizations

 to establish evidence-based practice guidelines for

36 Opportunities of MI
Specialist…
Scientific Writing and Medical Communication
 More than 77% of medical education & communication companies
employ at least one licensed specialist
 Having good writing skills, to have scientific expertise and literature
evaluation skills
 MI specialists: write, edit, or develop such as:

 Pt education materials, journal articles, regulatory documents, poster

presentations, grant proposals, drug evaluation monographs etc.

-->by gathering, interpreting, and presenting information for

either medical professionals or public
37 Opportunities of MI
Specialist…
Academia
 MI specialist: provide leadership in the pharmacy curriculum,
including both instructive & competency-based experiential
training
 Serves as a collaborator with other faculty on cases and
activity designed to reinforce DI skills for students
Poison Information Centers
 Practicing in an accredited poison information center or an
emergency room
 To provide information on the management of any poison
situation
38 Opportunities of MI
Specialist…
Pharmaceutical Industry:
 Providing written information on the drug product
produced by the manufacturer
 Serve as reviewers for journal articles, evidence-based
guidelines, and published drug monographs
 May interact with sales and marketing, participate with
regulatory affairs issues, and handle product complaints
 Review ADE identified in clinical studies and
communicate this to appropriate research and
39
Summary
 All pharmacists must be effective DI providers regardless of their
practice site;

 It is one of most fundamental responsibilities of a practitioner;

 Developing the skills of an effective DI provider is the

foundation for the pharmacist to be a life-long learner and problem
solver;

 Literature is a valuable component of both of these processes

and will allow individual pharmacist to familiarize to needs of a
continually changing healthcare system.
40

THANK
YOU.