2. The case for a medicine
information service
• As defined by Donald Rumsfield – the
former US Secretary of State
• There are things we know we know
• There are things we know we don’t know
• There are things we don’t know we don’t
know
3. in the War against Error…
Medicine Information is the
weapon of mass instruction
4. The aim of medicine information
• To achieve this we need
– Staff with the right knowledge and skills
– Access to the right resources
– Efficient methods of sharing work and
knowledge across networks (national and
international)
5. What happens in the UK
• About 220 medicine information (MI) centres
based in pharmacy departments of most
hospitals.
• Training in MI skills is a core part of the
development of every hospital pharmacist
• 13 Regional MI centres – provide leadership in
quality assurance, education and support, and
support commissioning pharmacists working in
primary care, led by National Executive
6. Promoting the things we know we
know
• Single national website of
information about medicines
–the National electronic library for
medicines (www.nelm.nhs.uk -
free access)
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. Support with the things we
know we do not know
• Across the UK – about 0.25
million enquiries are answered
every year by MI services
15.
16. Support with the things we know
we do not know
• Across the UK – about 0.25 million
enquiries are answered every year by MI
services
• Nationally implemented quality assurance
programme for enquiry answering
17. Support with the things we know
we do not know
• Across the UK – about 0.25 million
enquiries are answered every year by MI
services
• Nationally implemented quality assurance
programme for enquiry answering
• Most centres use same enquiry answering
database – MI Databank
18.
19.
20. Support with the things we know
we do not know
• Across the UK – about 0.25 million
enquiries are answered every year by MI
services
• Nationally implemented quality assurance
programme for enquiry answering
• Most centres use same enquiry answering
database – MI Databank
• Mailbase – to support pharmacists with
enquiries they cannot answer
21.
22. Reducing the risk of not knowing
what we do not know
• National training material for MI
pharmacists – workbook and computer-
assisted learning package (MiCAL)
covering:
– Relevant information sources and their
limitations
– Literature searching skills
– Dealing with specific types of enquiries
– Critical appraisal skills
– Ethics
23.
24.
25.
26. Reducing the risk of not knowing
what we do not know
• National training material for MI pharmacists –
workbook and computer-assisted learning
package (MiCAL) covering:
– Relevant information sources and their limitations
– Literature searching skills
– Dealing with specific types of enquiries
– Critical appraisal skills
– Ethics
• MI pharmacists then educate other pharmacists
in these skills
27. Reducing the risk of not knowing
what we do not know
• National training material for MI pharmacists –
workbook and computer-assisted learning
package (MiCAL) covering:
– Relevant information sources and their limitations
– Literature searching skills
– Dealing with specific types of enquiries
– Critical appraisal skills
– Ethics
• MI pharmacists then educate other hospital
pharmacists in these skills
• Use of IT to deliver tailored knowledge through
email push and RSS feeds
28.
29. Lessons we have learned
• Need to promote our service on basis of our combination
of knowledge, skills and access to clinical expertise
• Need to be prepared to support health economic work –
prescribers need to be take both evidence and cost
effectiveness into account
• Need to adjust to reflect changing national resources
(NICE, NHS CHOICES, NHS EVIDENCE
– so now we focus more on horizon scanning,
Medicines Q&As and individual patient reviews than on
individual drug reviews
• Published work is very closely scrutinised– need
stringent QA programme in place
• Need robust financial case for IT developments – costs
escalate!
