Drug Information Service at Teaching Hospitals in Developing Countries

Most developing countries suffer from lack of adequate drug information due to limited availability of current literature and also poor documentation and dissemination of what little information is available. Existence and proper functioning of independent drug information centres can greatly contribute to the provision of unbiased drug information that is much needed in these countries. A teaching hospitalbased drug information centre can be of assistance not only in patient care but also in educational activities. The centre can benefit from the material, monetary and multidisciplinary human resources that are usually available in such an institution. A three-year experience of providing drug information service at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu shows that it is possible to initiate such an activity at the local level with modest resources and that such a service is utilised if available.