Evaluation of patient-specific computer-generated drug information monographs

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Information Systems

Background:

• A computerized Medication Awareness Reporting System (MARS) was developed for drug information dissemination.
• MARS contains monographs on 200 common medications, including mechanism of action, dosage, adverse effects, and contraindications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and user acceptance of the MARS system in a community hospital setting.
• To assess the utilization patterns and perceived value of MARS reports among healthcare professionals.

Main Methods:

• MARS was implemented on four adult units of a 353-bed hospital over a 16-week period.
• Patient-specific MARS reports were generated daily and placed in patient charts and Kardex.
• Physicians, pharmacists, and nurses were surveyed regarding their use and perception of MARS.

Main Results:

• Nurses demonstrated higher utilization of MARS compared to physicians and pharmacists.
• Physicians and pharmacists reported the lowest value derived from MARS drug information reports.
• The system's cost-effectiveness for equipment and materials was noted, but implementation time posed a limitation.

Conclusions:

• While MARS offers a low-cost drug information solution, its current application in a hospital setting may be hindered by service delivery time.
• Enhanced delivery methods could improve MARS adoption in hospitals.
• MARS may be more suitable for long-term care facilities and home health agencies currently.