Drug Information Service

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A service for licensed healthcare professionals in Texas

In cooperation with the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin and UTHSCSA Department of Surgery, Division of Emergency Medicine.

Mission

The Drug Information Service (DIS), located in the Briscoe Medical Library, was established over 25 years ago as an academic and consultative endeavor of the University of Texas College of Pharmacy and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). The mission of the DIS is to promote optimal patient drug therapy through the provision of accurate, comprehensive, evidence-based drug information to health care providers. The DIS accomplishes its mission through a variety of activities including:

1. responding to drug-related questions from healthcare professionals,
2. preparing drug monographs for the University Health System (UHS) Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee,
3. coordinating the adverse drug reaction reporting system for UHS,
4. assisting with medication use evaluation activities at UHS, and
5. assisting the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Drug Use Review Board with issues related to drug use in the Texas Medicaid Program.

While the primary emphasis of the DIS is to serve the needs of healthcare professionals at the University of Texas at Austin, UTHSCSA, and various affiliated institutions and programs, responses to patient-specific questions are provided to healthcare professionals statewide. Additionally, the DIS serves as an educational training site for pharmacy students in their 4th professional year and for postgraduate pharmacy residents from various institutions in San Antonio. Instruction and training of these individuals emphasizes the development of advanced skills in drug information retrieval, evaluation and communication.

Service Limitations

Services of the DIS are intended for healthcare professionals only. Drug information requests from the lay public are usually best managed by those healthcare providers who have knowledge of these patients' complete medical history, current medications and overall healthcare status.

The DIS does not have the specialized resources needed to handle questions related to potential toxic ingestions or other types of toxic exposures. All questions related to poisoning should be directed to the Texas Poison Control Network (TPCN). Their toll-free number is 1-800-222-1222. Poison experts are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Why Should Healthcare Professionals Use the Service?

• The DIS has access to numerous biomedical references, databases, and journals.
• All questions received are researched using a systematic approach, exhausting appropriate tertiary, secondary, and/or primary resources.
• Literature used in formulating a response is critically analyzed and evaluated.
• Answers are quality-checked for accuracy, thoroughness, and appropriateness prior to responses being given.
• Most healthcare professionals have limited time to adequately perform a comprehensive literature search of available drug information resources.
• Most healthcare professionals do not have ready access to the wide range of print and online resources available through the DIS.
• Requests for information provide real-life problems for the training of pharmacy students and postgraduate residents.
• The service is free.

What Should You Expect When You Call?

• A thorough verbal response that addresses your specific drug information needs will be provided.
• Response times vary from a few minutes to several hours or days depending on the complexity of your question, the urgency of the situation, and the nature of other questions being researched. In general, patient-specific questions receive the highest priority, followed by questions related to general patient care.

What Types of Questions Are Answered by the DIS?

• The DIS has an extensive collection of print and online resources that can be used to answer a variety of drug-related questions.
• Most questions received by the DIS fall into one of the following categories:
  • Drug availability (U.S. and foreign)
  • Drug identification (U.S. and foreign)
  • Drug dosing and administration (e.g., neonates, pediatrics, renal impairment, hepatic impairment)
  • Side effects and adverse effects of drugs
  • Drug interactions (drug-drug, drug-disease, drug-laboratory, drug-herbal, drug-dietary supplement)
  • Drug use during pregnancy and lactation
  • IV compatibility and stability of drugs
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Therapeutic uses of drugs (FDA approved and non-labeled uses)
  • Generic bioequivalence
  • Extemporaneous compounding of medications
  • Alternative medications and natural products
  • Investigational drugs
  • Clinical practice guidelines

A Cooperative Service of the College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin
and
Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Contact us Monday thru Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
(all university holidays are observed)

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Drug Information Service, MC 7766
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio, TX 78229-3900

Phone: (210) 567-4319
Fax: (210) 567-4305

Drug Information Faculty and Staff

Leroy C. Knodel, Pharm.D.
Director, Drug Information Service
Associate Professor, UTHSCSA Department of Surgery
Clinical Associate Professor & Lonnie F. Hollingsworth, Sr. Centennial Fellow, College of Pharmacy, UT Austin

Veronica S. L. Young, Pharm.D., MPH
Assistant Director, Drug Information Service
Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, UT Austin
Department of Surgery, UTHSCSA

Jennifer K. Seltzer, Pharm.D.
Drug Information Specialist
Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, UT Austin
Department of Surgery, UTHSCSA

Margaret Rodriguez, Senior Office Assistant
College of Pharmacy, UT Austin