Expectations of Health Care Professionals Regarding the Services Provided by a Drug and Poison Information Center

The provision of accurate and timely drug information to health care professionals is an important mechanism to promote safe and effective drug therapy for patients. World’s Drug and Poison Information Centers (DPICs) are mainly affiliated to hospitals, rather rarely with faculties of pharmacy or with faculties of medicine and other related organizations. Data was collected from a questionnaire which was distributed among 400 health care providers in April 2009. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 17). Medical reference books and drug information textbooks (36. 7%) and expert colleagues (29. 7%) were the «most commonly» used drug information resources. In addition, 77. 8% of respondents «almost never» use DPICs. About 77% of respondents were non- acquainted with these centers'' activities. Five expectations were considered ‘very important’ by respondents: Provide information on IV drugs incompatibilities (74%), Provide drug interaction information (70. 1%), Provide new drugs information (56. 5%), Education/training of health care professionals regarding rational drug therapy and prevention of medication errors (54. 9%), Providing information on dosage forms of drugs available in Iran (53. 5%). Being non acquaintance with services of DPIC centers can be considered as the most important reason of not using them. Considering «announcement of availability of drugs in pharmacy» as one of the activities of DPICs, shows that the health care professionals are not acquainted with real services of these centers. It shows an urgent need for culture building activities to introduce them to these centers services.