Medicine information centre establishment MCQs With Answer

Medicine Information Centre Establishment MCQs With Answers

This quiz set is designed for M.Pharm students specializing in Clinical Pharmacy Practice who are preparing to establish or manage a Medicine Information Centre (MIC). It covers foundational concepts, infrastructure, staffing, information resources, query management, documentation, legal and ethical considerations, quality assurance, and performance metrics. Questions emphasize practical decision-making, source evaluation, workflow design, and regulatory responsibilities relevant to hospital and community settings. These MCQs will help reinforce theoretical knowledge and develop competencies required to design, operate, and evaluate a reliable, evidence-based medicine information service that supports clinicians, pharmacists, and patients.

Q1. What is the primary objective of establishing a Medicine Information Centre (MIC) in a hospital?

• To sell medications at reduced prices
• To provide unbiased, evidence-based drug information to healthcare professionals and patients
• To conduct routine laboratory tests for therapeutic drug monitoring
• To replace the clinical pharmacy department

Correct Answer: To provide unbiased, evidence-based drug information to healthcare professionals and patients

Q2. Which of the following is the most appropriate staffing model for a MIC in a tertiary care hospital?

• One pharmacist assistant working part-time with no supervision
• A multidisciplinary team including clinical pharmacists, a drug information pharmacist, and access to specialist consultants
• Only physicians taking turns to answer drug queries
• Outsourced call-center staff without clinical pharmacy training

Correct Answer: A multidisciplinary team including clinical pharmacists, a drug information pharmacist, and access to specialist consultants

Q3. Which resource is considered a tertiary source commonly used for quick, reliable answers in a Medicine Information Centre?

• Original randomized controlled trial article
• Clinical practice guideline
• Textbook or drug monograph compendium like Micromedex or Lexicomp
• Unpublished case report

Correct Answer: Textbook or drug monograph compendium like Micromedex or Lexicomp

Q4. For an urgent clinical query about a life-threatening drug interaction, what is the expected response time standard for many MICs?

• Within 24 to 48 hours
• Within 4 to 6 hours or immediately if life-threatening
• Within one week after literature search
• No fixed time; respond as schedule permits

Correct Answer: Within 4 to 6 hours or immediately if life-threatening

Q5. Which documentation element is essential for each query handled by a Medicine Information Centre?

• Only the final answer without sources
• Query details, patient demographics if relevant, search strategy, references, and date/time
• Financial cost of resources used
• Supervisor’s personal notes only

Correct Answer: Query details, patient demographics if relevant, search strategy, references, and date/time

Q6. Which database is most appropriate for comprehensive biomedical literature searching when answering complex queries at a MIC?

• MEDLINE/PubMed and Embase combined
• Local hospital intranet only
• Social media drug groups
• Pharmacy retail software inventory

Correct Answer: MEDLINE/PubMed and Embase combined

Q7. In developing SOPs for a Medicine Information Centre, which topic is least likely to be included?

• Query receipt, triage, research, response, and documentation procedures
• Confidentiality and conflict of interest policies
• Guidelines for purchasing cafeteria items
• Quality assurance, review and audit processes

Correct Answer: Guidelines for purchasing cafeteria items

Q8. What quality indicator would best measure the accuracy and clinical usefulness of MIC responses?

• Number of printed flyers distributed
• Percentage of responses validated by peer review and rated clinically useful by requesters
• Time spent on social media promotion
• Annual budget size

Correct Answer: Percentage of responses validated by peer review and rated clinically useful by requesters

Q9. Which ethical consideration is most important when providing drug information to external commercial sponsors?

• Prioritizing sponsor-paid queries above clinical queries
• Disclosing and managing conflicts of interest and maintaining independence
• Publishing sponsor opinions as independent guidance
• Sharing internal patient records freely with sponsors

Correct Answer: Disclosing and managing conflicts of interest and maintaining independence

Q10. Which tool or approach is most appropriate for framing a focused clinical question for literature search in a MIC?

• PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome)
• Random guesswork
• Search engine auto-complete suggestions only
• Only the drug brand name without clinical context

Correct Answer: PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome)

Q11. What is the best practice for handling off-label use queries at a MIC?

• Provide blanket approval for off-label prescribing
• Summarize available evidence, discuss risks/benefits, cite sources, and recommend consultation with specialists
• Ignore such queries as outside scope
• Recommend immediate cessation of all off-label therapies

Correct Answer: Summarize available evidence, discuss risks/benefits, cite sources, and recommend consultation with specialists

Q12. Which practice helps maintain confidentiality and patient privacy when answering clinical queries?

• Using full patient identifiers in public responses
• Removing or anonymizing patient identifiers and following institutional privacy policies
• Posting patient details on internal social platforms
• Discussing cases in open areas without consent

Correct Answer: Removing or anonymizing patient identifiers and following institutional privacy policies

Q13. What type of MIC activity directly supports pharmacovigilance?

• Receiving and assessing adverse drug reaction reports and forwarding to national PV system
• Handling only medication procurement
• Providing only dosage calculators
• Maintaining the hospital cafeteria menu

Correct Answer: Receiving and assessing adverse drug reaction reports and forwarding to national PV system

Q14. Which metric best evaluates the workload and demand for the MIC?

• Number of queries handled per month and average response time
• Number of staff vacation days
• Amount spent on office supplies
• Size of the waiting room

Correct Answer: Number of queries handled per month and average response time

Q15. When assessing the credibility of a primary research article, which factor is least relevant?

• Study design and methodology quality
• Conflict of interest disclosures and funding sources
• Sample size and statistical power
• The color scheme of the journal website

Correct Answer: The color scheme of the journal website

Q16. For cost-effective establishment of a MIC in a resource-limited hospital, which strategy is most appropriate?

• Rely exclusively on expensive commercial databases
• Use a mix of freely available databases (PubMed, WHO, national formularies) and selected paid resources prioritized by institutional need
• Hire non-clinical staff without training
• Delay all MIC services until full funding is available

Correct Answer: Use a mix of freely available databases (PubMed, WHO, national formularies) and selected paid resources prioritized by institutional need

Q17. Which communication skill is most critical for medicine information pharmacists when conveying complex evidence to clinicians?

• Using dense technical jargon without explanation
• Translating evidence into concise, actionable recommendations and stating the level of evidence
• Refusing to provide written support
• Providing opinions without references

Correct Answer: Translating evidence into concise, actionable recommendations and stating the level of evidence

Q18. Which policy helps ensure continuity and coverage of the MIC during staff leave or peak demand?

• No backup plan and closed services during leave
• Cross-training staff, on-call rotas, and documented SOPs for handover
• Outsourcing all responsibilities with no oversight
• Referring all queries to a single individual only

Correct Answer: Cross-training staff, on-call rotas, and documented SOPs for handover

Q19. Which of the following best describes the role of MIC in formulary management?

• MIC has no role in formulary decisions
• Providing evidence summaries, cost-effectiveness data, and safety profiles to inform formulary inclusion and therapeutic interchange policies
• Automatically adding all new marketed drugs to the formulary
• Setting retail prices for drugs

Correct Answer: Providing evidence summaries, cost-effectiveness data, and safety profiles to inform formulary inclusion and therapeutic interchange policies

Q20. What is a critical component of evaluating the impact of a MIC on patient care?

• Measuring changes in clinical outcomes, medication error rates, and prescriber satisfaction attributable to MIC interventions
• Counting the number of brochures printed yearly
• Tracking only the number of social media followers
• Recording staff attendance only

Correct Answer: Measuring changes in clinical outcomes, medication error rates, and prescriber satisfaction attributable to MIC interventions

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