Evaluation of Drug Information Service for Medical Staff Provided by Clinical Pharmacist in the ICU

Abstract

In critical care, many kinds of medicine are used, and their dosage and administration vary widely. In addition, the condition of patients is unstable. Drug information therefore needs to be accurate and provided rapidly. A pharmacist has been stationed in the ICU of Gifu University Hospital since June 2004 and in the present study, we evaluated drug information service provided to its medical staff by the pharmacist between July 2004 and February 2005. Over the 8 months, there were 380 instances of providing drug information to doctors and 251 instances to nurses, making a total of 631 instances. The major information provided to doctors was on usage, dosage and TDM/administration design, and that to nurses on stability, incompatibility, pharmacological effects and adverse effects. The acceptance rates for the information were 94% for the doctors, and 92% for the nurses. Our findings clearly showed which types of drug information medical staff require from a pharmacist in the ICU. Furthermore, since the acceptance rates for the information were extremely high, the provision of drug information by the pharmacist in the ICU was considered to be useful.