Knowledge, skills and attitudes of hospital pharmacists in the use of information technology and electronic tools to support clinical practice: A Brazilian survey

December Knowledge, skills and attitudes of hospital pharmacists in the use of information technology and electronic tools to support clinical practice: A Brazilian survey Eugenie Desirèe Rabelo Ne ri 0 1 Assuero Silva Meira 0 1 Hemerson Bruno da Silva Vasconcelos 1 David John Woods 1 Marta Maria de FrancË a Fonteles 1 0 Surveillance and Patient Safety Sector, Assis Chateaubriand Maternity School, Federal University of Cear a , Fortaleza, Ceara , Brazil , 2 Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Nursing, Federal University of Ceara , Fortaleza, CearaÂ, Brazil, 3 Planning Sector , Assis Chateaubriand Maternity School, Federal University of Cear a , Fortaleza, Ceara , Brazil , 4 School of Pharmacy, Otago University , Dunedin , New Zealand 1 Editor: Ilana Graetz, University of Tennessee Health Science Center , UNITED STATES This study aimed to identify the knowledge, skills and attitudes of Brazilian hospital pharmacists in the use of information technology and electronic tools to support clinical practice. Methods: A questionnaire was sent by email to clinical pharmacists working public and private hospitals in Brazil. The instrument was validated using the method of Polit and Beck to determine the content validity index. Data (n = 348) were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's Chi-square test and Gamma correlation tests. Results: Pharmacists had 1±4 electronic devices for personal use, mainly smartphones (84.8%; n = 295) and laptops (81.6%; n = 284). At work, pharmacists had access to a computer (89.4%; n = 311), mostly connected to the internet (83.9%; n = 292). They felt competent (very capable/capable) searching for a web page/web site on a specific subject (100%; n = 348), downloading files (99.7%; n = 347), using spreadsheets (90.2%; n = 314), searching using MeSH terms in PubMed (97.4%; n = 339) and general searching for articles in bibliographic databases (such as Medline/PubMed: 93.4%; n = 325). Pharmacists did not feel competent in using statistical analysis software (somewhat capable/incapable: 78.4%; n = 273). Most pharmacists reported that they had not received formal education to perform most of these actions except searching using MeSH terms. Access to bibliographic databases was available in Brazilian hospitals, however, most pharmacists (78.7%; n = 274) reported daily use of a non-specific search engine such as Google. This result may reflect the lack of formal knowledge and training in the use of bibliographic databases and difficulty with the English language. The need to expand knowledge about information search tools was recognized by most pharmacists in clinical practice in Brazil, especially those with less time dedicated exclusively to clinical activity (Chi-square, p = 0.006). Conclusion: These results will assist in defining minimal competencies for the training of pharmacists in the field of information - Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. technology to support clinical practice. Knowledge and skill gaps are evident in the use of bibliographic databases, spreadsheets and statistical tools. Introduction The use of information technology and automation to support pharmacy practice dates from the 1970s [ 1, 2 ]. From 1999, large investments were made in this area aiming to reduce medication errors and increase patient safety [ 3, 4 ]. To respond to the change, pharmacists require dedicated training in information technology and electronic tools. In Brazil, the national curricular guidelines for undergraduate pharmacy education, published in 2002, define the principles, fundamentals, conditions and procedures for the training of pharmacists in this country. These curricular guidelines present the need to master the use of information technology to exercise competency in health care decision making, communication, leadership, management, and continuing education [ 5 ]. In our view, little attention has been given to training in the knowledge and skills in information technology and electronic tools in the undergraduate pharmacy program in Brazil. Similarly, there has been little attention to training programs and continuing education in these disciplines for practicing pharmacists. In Brazil, the practice of clinical pharmacy is increasingly dependent on appropriate knowledge and practical skills in the use of information technology. The use of these tools facilitates professional communication, including the use of electronic medical records and the maintenance of accurate medication profiles. They are also used for pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, requesting and documenting laboratory and diagnostic tests and for the reporting of adverse drug reactions. The use of information technology is (...truncated)