A Survey of Fee-for-Service Activities of Drug Information Centers

Abstract

A survey was conducted to evaluate the fee-for-service (FFS) activities of drug information centers (DICs). Questionnaires were sent to 103 DICs across the United States. Centers were queried about funding source(s), percentage of funds obtained from fees-for-service, fee schedules and rates, and changes in revenue over the previous 5 years. Hospitals, universities, fees, grants, pharmaceutical companies, and unspecified source(s) were reported as funding source(s). Seventeen (22.4%) of the 76 responding DICs reported obtaining revenue from service fees; these DICs utilized various fee schedules and rates, including annual rates, hourly rates, per request charges, and a “900” toll phone line. Of the DICs that reported FFS revenue, nine centers (52.9%) ranked their sources. An increase, decrease, or no change in FFS revenue over the past 5 years was reported by eight centers (47.1%), two centers (11.8%), and seven centers (41.2%), respectively. It was concluded that the FFS activities of DICs have remained essentially unchanged over the past 2 decades.