UKMi Resources

Enquiry Answering

Enquiry answering forms a large part of the work of MI services. The resources here are designed to facilitate provision of an accurate, independent, current and evidence based enquiry answering service.  Standards for enquiry answering have now been incorporated into the Audit standards.

It is encouraged that Standard Search Patterns are used where possible. A Standard Search Pattern is a suggested list of the best sources available to answer a particular type of enquiry and indicates an order in which they should be used.  It does not represent a definitive list of sources, and other sources should be checked as appropriate.  It also does not mean that every source on the Standard Search Pattern has to be checked for every enquiry type. Standard Search Patterns are available through the Enquiry Answering Guidelines document, and through MiDatabank; these can be adapted for local use.

Guidance is available on which Enquiries To Document; the guidance advises on which MI work should be documented as an enquiry. A document is also provided explaining why it is important to record all levels of enquiries via MiDatabank, including Recording of Simple Enquiries.

Guidance Notes for Ranking Enquiries (level 1, 2, or 3) is provided. It is also strongly encouraged, where possible, that enquiries are categorised into Patient Centered Themes. Three patient centred themes are available: patient support & experience, treatment effectiveness & outcomes, and patient safety. The closest matching theme should be selected; again, guidance notes are provided below.

Guidance is also available on Checking Medicines Information Enquiries, the handling of Fridge Enquiries, Using Pharmaceutical’s Medical Information Departments, and the use of Headsets.

Guidance on the Recording of Confidential Data when sharing Mi Databank enquiries via the national internet based sharing programme (MiSharer), and some other general guidance on Using MiDatabank (searching and Tips for MI managers) can be found in the MiDatabank section.

Note: Several documents in this section are due for review. The documents have been assessed and it is considered important to continue making them available pending review, but they may reference previous structures within UKMi such as Regional Services which no longer exist. This will be addressed at the next review.