Drug and Poison Information Centre

Serving the Community and Saving Lives          

It was late at night when the Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC) at the University Hospital (AKUH) received a frantic call from a mother whose two-year-old son had swallowed a number of tablets prescribed to her for hypertension. The hysterical mother had no idea what to do. The pharmacist at DPIC calmed her down, asked for the name of the medicine and quickly recommended required counter-measures and first aid treatment. The right piece of information at the right time helped save a life.

DPIC serves the community by providing timely advice on accidental drug intake and poisoning management, besides providing health care professionals with updated data on drug usage.		Abdul Latif Sheikh, Director of Pharmacy Services and founder of DPIC.

Established in 1995, DPIC was the first facility of its kind in Pakistan. A decade later, it continues to serve the community by providing timely advice on accidental drug intake and poisoning management, besides providing health care professionals with updated data on drug usage.

DPIC is a subsidiary of the Department of Pharmacy Services at AKUH and is headed by Abdul Latif Sheikh, Director of Pharmacy Services, who is also the Centre’s founder. The team of pharmacists at DPIC includes Shamim Raza, Senior Pharmacist and Area Coordinator for the Centre and Inpatient Pharmacy Services; Zahid Ghous, Clinical Pharmacist and DPIC Supervisor; and Salwa Zubair, Senior Pharmacist. The Centre operates round the clock, responds to approximately 70 calls a day and caters to health care staff and laypersons alike.

It is the Centre’s responsibility and mission to maintain up-to-date information on pharmaceutical products, dosage forms, combinations and treatment protocols. It provides drug evaluation for formulary addition, assists in formulary selection, organises and conducts continuing education sessions for health care professionals, participates in national symposiums, offers counselling to patients and addresses public forums to highlight key issues and latest trends.

Poisoning management is a DPIC speciality. The Centre gathers and disseminates information on various kinds of poisons available in Pakistan, their antidotes and/or supportive and symptomatic treatment. Another key activity is the provision of clinical pharmacy services in various critical care settings within the University Hospital. In this connection, a pharmacist from DPIC visits areas such as the Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac Care Unit and Stroke Unit to identify and solve drug-related problems.

DPIC also supervises Point of Care Pharmacist (PCP) services, a recent initiative that has helped improve the Hospital’s drug delivery system by placing pharmacists in patient care areas. By serving as a liaison between patients and physicians, the pharmacist becomes part of the Hospital’s multidisciplinary team which also includes doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and nutritionists.

The Centre is actively engaged in research related to drug investigations and prevention and treatment of poisoning. It regularly publishes pharmacy updates as well as a newsletter and reviews clinical drug trial protocols. In 2004, DPIC presented three abstracts at the International Pharmaceutical Federation Conference in Sydney, Australia, while three more were accepted by the Asian Management Conference in Hong Kong, Thailand. Amongst the DPIC’s pioneering work was the publication of antibiotics guidelines in 2004.

The Centre keeps track of banned or recalled drugs and aids the Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan, in making decisions regarding the introduction or prescription of drugs. It also supports the activities of the AKUH Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee as well as the Antibiotic Sub-Committee.

DPIC’s continuing education initiatives are geared towards residents, nurses, pharmacists and interns. These programmes focus on increasing awareness of the mechanisms and implications of adverse drug reactions and medication error reporting, besides advising participants on how to most effectively utilise a pharmacist’s services. Meanwhile, the Centre’s Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) programmes provide credentialing for clinical pharmacists, amongst other services.

According to Abdul Latif Sheikh, the Centre has evolved into an authentic resource base for drug and poison related issues. “The Centre maintains comprehensive information on drug therapy and a file on every available drug, and for this reason has become a role model for other institutions,” he says.

There is an urgent need for research in the areas of poisoning management and medication usage in Pakistan, adds Sheikh. DPIC is currently working towards establishing a database of poisons and chemicals available in the country as well as devising a system of training that will produce specialised toxicologists. In addition to promoting the rational use of medication, the Centre aims to expand its services to improve access to poison and medication related emergency advice.