Initiation of Drug Information Services in Nephrology

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) are clinical conditions where optimization of patient care is a challenge. The involvement of clinical pharmacist in providing drug information services assists the health care professionals in optimizing drug therapy thus enhancing patient care. Provision of drug information is one of the major services of a clinical pharmacist and the present study was a first step towards initiating drug information services in the Nephrology unit of M.S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital. The study was conducted for a period of 6 months from December 2013 to June 2014. Clinical pharmacists participated daily for ward rounds and provided drug information services. A total of 38 drug information (DI) queries were asked of which 89.5% (n=34) were by nephrologists and 10.5% (n=4) by residents. Forty six percent (n=16) of the queries were on drug therapy followed by dosage/administration 31% (n=11) and ADRs 14% (n=5). The study concluded that provision of drug information service was successful in our study site and resulted in improved care among renal patients.