Maywald Ulf, Schindler Christoph, Krappweis Jutta, Kirch Wilhelm
Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Dresden University of Technology, Fiedlerstrasse 27, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
Ann Pharmacother. 2004 Dec;38(12):2154-9. doi: 10.1345/aph.1E210. Epub 2004 Nov 2.
The majority of patients have unmet drug information needs, and patients' knowledge of their own treatment is often poor. This is a major obstacle to a more patient-centered healthcare system.
To explore patterns of patients' unmet drug information needs and outcomes of counseling patients by a drug and therapy information center (DTIC).
We established the first German DTIC for patients. In this descriptive study, data obtained on callers within 24 months were analyzed. Questionnaires for gathering information about callers' characteristics and the outcome of the advice were sent to all patients using the service after consultation. Data on all inquiries and evaluation sheets were documented and analyzed by a standardized database.
During 24 months, 2049 telephone calls were recorded. Patients' unmet information needs were mainly related to adverse drug reactions/drug interactions (31.0%) and therapy information (27.2%). In 81.0% of the cases, patients' uncertainties regarding their prescribed medications were reduced, 37.9% discussed the advice with their physician, and 18.3% reported a reduction of physician visits as a result of our advice. The patient-physician relationship remained mainly (70.6%) unaffected after our intervention.
The DTIC is useful as a source of medical expert advice. The service can help to reduce medication problems based on inadequate information and therefore avoid unnecessary healthcare utilization. With the knowledge provided, patients can participate in decisions affecting their own health. This procedure encourages greater confidence in the merits of drug therapy.
大多数患者的药物信息需求未得到满足，患者对自身治疗的了解往往不足。这是建立更以患者为中心的医疗保健系统的主要障碍。
探讨患者未满足的药物信息需求模式以及药物与治疗信息中心（DTIC）为患者提供咨询的效果。
我们为患者建立了首个德国DTIC。在这项描述性研究中，分析了24个月内来电者的相关数据。咨询后，向所有使用该服务的患者发送问卷，以收集有关来电者特征和咨询效果的信息。所有咨询数据和评估表均通过标准化数据库进行记录和分析。
在24个月内，共记录了2049个电话。患者未满足的信息需求主要与药物不良反应/药物相互作用（31.0%）和治疗信息（27.2%）有关。在81.0%的案例中，患者对其处方药的不确定性有所降低，37.9%的患者与医生讨论了咨询意见，18.3%的患者报告因我们的建议而减少了看医生的次数。我们干预后，医患关系基本（70.6%）未受影响。
DTIC可作为医学专家建议的来源。该服务有助于减少因信息不足导致的用药问题，从而避免不必要的医疗资源利用。通过提供的知识，患者可以参与影响自身健康的决策。这一过程增强了对药物治疗优势的信心。
