Determination of the drug information needs of the medical staff of a Nigerian hospital following implementation of clinical pharmacy services

The types and frequency of questions asked of clinical pharmacists introducing clinical pharmacy services in the internal medicine wards of a Nigerian university hospital and the degree of compliance with pharmacists' recommendations were studied. Three faculty pharmacists collected data in two 30-working day study periods, separated by a year. Totals of 197 questions (an average of 6.57 +/- 1.33 questions/working day) and 271 questions (an average of 9.03 +/- 1.10 questions/working day) were answered by the pharmacists in the first and second study periods, respectively. Pharmacists recommended changes in patient-specific drug therapy that were implemented 52 percent and 69 percent of the time in the first and second study periods, respectively. The most common type of drug information request concerned the presence or the likelihood of an adverse drug reaction. Continuous interaction between pharmacists and physicians in the patient-care setting results in a better appreciation of the pharmacist's role as drug information consultant, and the consequence of this is a high degree of compliance with pharmacists' recommendations.