Abstract: India has many healthcare challenges including a high level of irrational prescribing. Healthcare professionals lack organised education programs and sources of unbiased information. In 2006, the drug information centre of the Karnataka State Pharmacy Council and WHO India initiated a program to enhance the range of drug information centres in northern India. Five centres were selected according to predefined criteria and expected outcomes. The centres were located in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana and Rajasthan. Two participants from each centre underwent training in Bangalore and each site was provided with initial funding. The new drug information centres can act as a source of drug information for both health professionals and the public.
Background: India has a population of more than one billion and a wide range of social, economic, occupational and health problems. There are more than 80,000 pharmaceutical formulations available, including many irrational, fixed-dose combinations, and similar brand names containing entirely different drugs. There is no organised drug information service to provide unbiased drug information or continuing education to update doctors and pharmacists. As a consequence, unnecessary and irrational prescribing is common and implementation of essential drugs programs have been limited.
Karnataka State Pharmacy Council (KSPC) established a drug information centre in 1997 to disseminate unbiased information to medical and paramedical professionals. The centre has extended its activity in association with the Karnataka state government and WHO India office to perform various training programs, and other projects for doctors and pharmacists in Karnataka.
KSPC and WHO India identified a need to establish more drug information centres in northern India. This was to complement current services which are located in south India. A project to facilitate five independent drug information centres was initiated by KSPC and WHO India. The task of developing the new centres was given to KSPC in August 2006. The centres would disseminate authentic and unbiased drug information to medical and paramedical professionals and patients/consumers. |
