The Tamil Nadu Pharmacy Council will be setting up a drug information centre with a total investment of around Rs 20 lakhs in its premises by February 2007. The council is planning to get the centre inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

The council is seeking permission from the state government to set up the centre on a 1200 sq feet space above its office as the space belongs to Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB).

The drug information centre will be functional 24 hours and would provide information about drugs, drug interactions and adverse drug reactions, diseases and disorders, paediatrics and neonatal therapies etc. The centre will be providing information through a website and a dedicated telephone service. The council will be appointing a full time officer to help people seeking information. The officer would be a Postgraduate or a PhD holder in pharmaceutical studies.

The council will also be having a library to gather and provide information to the people. The database for the proposed information centre is being collected through books, online journals, etc.

"The drug information centre to be initiated by the pharmacy council will be very effective as we are the ones dealing with medicines. International Pharmaceutical boards approve the pharmacists registered with our councils. So we can provide authentic information to the people," said T Ilango, registrar Tamil Nadu Pharmacy council.

He said that a committee comprising Dr N N Rajendran, Joint Director of Medical Education (Pharmacy), Dr Narayanan, Professor of Pharmaceutics Madras Medical College (MMC), Professor Jagadeesan, professor of Pharmacognosy, MMC, A Tamil Nadu Medical Council, had been formed to assist the pharmacy council set up and monitor the drug information centre.

"Maharashtra Pharmacy Council and Karnataka Pharmacy council's are running their Drug Information Centre's very effectively. Ours will also function in the similar manner extending help to the registered medical practitioners, pharmacists, health care professionals and the public. Dr B Suresh, President of the Pharmacy Council Of India has been taking efforts to set up drug information centres in all the State Pharmacy councils," said Ilango.

The key steps in providing medication information by the centre would be assessing of medication information needs of patients, conduct interviews and gather data to formulate a specific answerable question related to the patients care, perform a search for the best available evidence applicable to the question, evaluate the evidence retrieved and develop a response, communicate response, document recommendations and actions, follow up to evaluate the success of recommendations, therapeutic response and the potential need for additional information if required.