Clinical research: national survey of U.S. pharmacy-based investigational drug services--1997

The results of a survey on the status of pharmacy-based investigational drug services and ways in which some institutions have adapted to recent changes that may affect research are presented. A 99-item survey on investigational drug services was sent in February 1997 to pharmacy directors at 1495 hospitals affiliated with teaching institutions throughout the United States. The survey covered workload, inpatient and outpatient pharmaceutical services, marketing of services, quality assurance, committee involvement, funding sources, computerization, and educational activities. The response rate was 21%; 68% of the respondents were from sites involved in dispensing drugs used for clinical research, with pharmacies at larger hospitals being more likely to dispense investigational drugs than pharmacies at smaller hospitals. The pharmacies participated in a mean 51 active protocols for every full-time-equivalent employee budgeted to research protocols. The correlation between staffing level and number of protocols was high. The service provided most often was the maintenance of drug accountability records for study drugs dispensed to inpatients and outpatients. There was wide variation in the types of services provided to researchers by the pharmacies. Basic services, such as dispensing and inventory control, were provided by nearly all the pharmacies, whereas more-specialized services tended to be provided more often at institutions more heavily committed to research. Pharmacy-based investigational drug services at hospitals affiliated with teaching institutions offered basic services, such as dispensing and inventory control, almost universally and offered specialized services to varying degrees.