Anderson P O
Department of Pharmacy, University of California San Diego Medical Center 92103-8925.
Am J Hosp Pharm. 1994 Nov 1;51(21):2684-7.
Effects of converting a free drug information service at a university medical center to a 900 telephone number are described. Calls to a university medical center drug information service had increased beyond the capacity of staff. A telephone survey to recent users of the service indicated that callers outside the institution would be willing to pay a fee for the service, so a 900 number was instituted for outside calls in January 1993. Staff recorded data on all questions they answered; data for 1993 were compared with those from 1992. Question volume decreased by 48% after the 900 number was instituted, with questions from outside the institution dropping by 55%, questions from outside health care professionals dropping by 72%, and questions from the lay public increasing slightly. One severe impediment to callers from local hospitals was that many hospitals block access to 900 numbers from their telephone systems. The average length of a call was three minutes and the average cost per call was $6. Net income during the first year of operation was $6698. The 900 number provided some income, but it did not completely offset operating costs. A 900 telephone number is a workable, but imperfect, method of providing drug information to outside callers. Early notification of users before implementing a 900 number is essential to allow time for them to arrange telephone access.
本文描述了将大学医学中心的免费药物信息服务转换为900电话号码服务后的效果。拨打大学医学中心药物信息服务热线的电话数量增加，超出了工作人员的处理能力。一项针对该服务近期用户的电话调查显示，机构外部的来电者愿意为这项服务付费，因此在1993年1月设立了900号码用于外部来电。工作人员记录了他们回答的所有问题的数据；将1993年的数据与1992年的数据进行了比较。设立900号码后，问题数量减少了48%，其中机构外部的问题减少了55%，医疗保健专业人员以外的问题减少了72%，而普通公众的问题略有增加。当地医院的来电者面临的一个严重障碍是，许多医院在其电话系统中阻止拨打900号码。每次通话的平均时长为三分钟，每次通话的平均费用为6美元。运营第一年的净收入为6698美元。900号码提供了一些收入，但并未完全抵消运营成本。900电话号码是向外部来电者提供药物信息的一种可行但并不完美的方法。在实施900号码之前尽早通知用户，以便他们有时间安排电话接入，这一点至关重要。
