External quality assurance committee for drug information services

Use of an external quality assurance committee to assess the performance of a drug information service is described. At the St. John's University Drug Information Center, responses to requests for drug information are provided via telephone, with written consultations or bibliographies provided on request. All telephone queries and responses are tape-recorded so that the oral responses to requests can be evaluated. In September 1986, the center initiated a quality assurance program that involved a 10-member external review committee composed of local pharmacists representing eight practice areas. A standardized evaluation form containing performance criteria was used. Performance with respect to each criterion, excluding timeliness and consistency of the response, was rated according to a four-point scale. Mean scores for all drug information skills were determined on the basis of the difficulty rating of the request. A total of 25 consultations were evaluated during a six-month pilot period. The most accurately answered requests were those pertaining to adverse drug reactions, teratogenicity, injectable drug compatibility, and drug-drug interactions. The least accurately answered questions pertained to product identification. Mean scores for the low-difficulty and intermediate-difficulty questions were much lower than those for the high-difficulty questions for all performance areas except oral communication. Use of an external quality assurance committee proved to be an objective, valid way of ensuring the accuracy and completeness of drug information consultations.