Establishment of a 900 telephone number at a university-based drug information service

Effects of converting a free drug information service at a university medical center to a 900 telephone number are described. Calls to a university medical center drug information service had increased beyond the capacity of staff. A telephone survey to recent users of the service indicated that callers outside the institution would be willing to pay a fee for the service, so a 900 number was instituted for outside calls in January 1993. Staff recorded data on all questions they answered; data for 1993 were compared with those from 1992. Question volume decreased by 48% after the 900 number was instituted, with questions from outside the institution dropping by 55%, questions from outside health care professionals dropping by 72%, and questions from the lay public increasing slightly. One severe impediment to callers from local hospitals was that many hospitals block access to 900 numbers from their telephone systems. The average length of a call was three minutes and the average cost per call was $6. Net income during the first year of operation was $6698. The 900 number provided some income, but it did not completely offset operating costs. A 900 telephone number is a workable, but imperfect, method of providing drug information to outside callers. Early notification of users before implementing a 900 number is essential to allow time for them to arrange telephone access.