The concept of ‘information’ is used in almost every scientific discipline within its own different contexts. In healthcare, ‘information’ may be defined as the provision of unbiased, evidence-based, and critically evaluated data and experiences (Bernknopf et al., 2009; Mononen et al., 2018).
The access to the most relevant, updated, user-specific, and objective information is paramount to make appropriate decisions (e.g. prescription, dispensing, and use of drugs), and to inform, underpin, or shape scientific research (Sharp, Bodenreider, & Wacholder, 2008).
In the early 1960s, the combination of terms ‘drug information’, ‘center’, and ‘specialist’ was first employed to describe a distinct practice area of Pharmacy (Malone, Kier, Stanovich, & Malone, 2014; Walton, 2006). The University of Kentucky in the United States of America set the first ‘drug information center’, aiming at providing patient-specific drug information, assess adverse drug reaction information, and guide student and healthcare professionals education and training (Rosenberg, Koumis, Nathan, Cicero, & McGuire, 2004; Tietze, 2012).
The pharmacist was usually considered the ‘drug information specialist’ or ‘drug consultant’ that had enough expertise and knowledge to retrieve, select, evaluate, and disseminate information towards a specific drug-related question.
This continuous support of rational therapeutic selections contributed towards better patient care and allowed the pharmacist to further integrate the multidisciplinary healthcare team (Amerson & Wallingford, 1983; Malone, et al., 2014).
Shortly after, several other ‘drug information centers’ were created in the United States of America, with more than 50 pharmacist-operated centers during the 1970s (Amerson & Wallingford, 1983; Rosenberg, et al., 2004). At this time, different approaches were developed to provide drug information services, including hospitals’ decentralized pharmacists, clinical consultation services, and regional center for a specific geographic area (Amundstuen Reppe, Spigset, & Schjott, 2016).
Consequently, there was significant growth in the ‘clinical pharmacy movement’, mostly because of the acceptance of the clinical pharmacist role in patients care, the need for quick access to drug information, and the perceived ability of pharmacists to interpret conflicting therapeutic information (American Pharmacists Association, 2007).
However, in recent years, health systems in both developed and developing countries faced the challenges of financial constraints, a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases, and an increase in problems related to pharmacotherapy and morbidity and mortality associated with drug use.
These changes led to the closure of some drug information centers and significantly impacted on clinical pharmacy model and in ‘pharmacy’ as a profession (Iwanowicz, Marciniak, & Zeolla, 2006; World Health Organization (WHO), 1996, 1997). Still, the provision of drug information is as important today as at the beginning of the drug information concept, being an integral pharmacist responsibility that represents a core standard of the profession and also embodies numerous educational outcomes within the pharmacy curricula (Bernknopf, et al., 2009; Gonzalez et al., 2019).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pharmacists have a vital role to play in drug therapy management and should be more involved in solving healthcare problems. This includes being able to provide evidence-based recommendations, which may support clinical practices, enhance the quality of patient care, improve patients’ outcomes, and ensure the rational use of resources (World Health Organization (WHO), 1996, 1997).
In a recent report of the ASHP Foundation, one of the 2015 initiatives is to continuously increase the extent to which health-system pharmacists apply evidence-based methods to improve medication therapies (S. Ghaibi, Ipema, Gabay, & American Society of Health-System, 2015; Manasse, 2005).
The pharmacist must have skills in oral and written communication domains to effectively provide drug information, being able to:
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Anticipate and objectively evaluate the drug information needs of patients and other healthcare professionals.
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Obtain appropriate and complete background information for responding to any drug information request.
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Use a systematic and stepwise approach to address drug information needs by searching, retrieving, and critically evaluating the literature (i.e. assessment of study design, statistics, bias, limitations, and applicability).
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Appropriately synthesize, communicate, document, disseminate, and apply pertinent information to each situation.
Consequently, a reorientation of pharmacy education is necessary. Curriculum modifications and instructional strategies should be considered to facilitate learning outcomes, in terms of the knowledge and skills needed for drug information practice.
Pharmacists should be involved in expanded patient care responsibilities, which require adequate knowledge, communication skills, problem-solving capabilities, critical-thinking abilities, and decision-making skills (AlHaqwi, Kuntze, & van der Molen, 2014; Nathan, 2013).