Enhancing Evidence-Based Pharmacy by Comparing the Quality of Web-Based Information Sources to the EVInews Database: Randomized Controlled Trial With German Community Pharmacists
TLDR The EVInews database provides significantly higher quality information than web-based sources for pharmacists.
A study involving 141 German community pharmacists compared the quality of web-based information sources to the EVInews database, a tool for self-medication-related information. The pharmacists were divided into two groups: one using web-based sources (n=71) and the other using the EVInews database (n=70). The quality of the information sources was assessed using a quality score from 0% to 100%. The web group had a median quality score of 32.8% (59.0 out of 180.0 points), while the EVInews group had a significantly higher score of 85.3% (153.5 out of 180.0 points). The study concluded that the quality of web-based information sources often did not meet standard quality requirements, with the EVInews database providing significantly higher quality information. The EVInews database could be a useful tool for pharmacists to reduce the evidence-to-practice gap.
