Clinical Guidelines

HIMSS 2012: Lexicomp Provides Superior Drug Interaction Data

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 by Michelle Curren

Lexi-Data, Lexicomp's clinical decision support database is perfect for EMR vendors looking to meet a number of Meaningful Use requirements:

Allows for specific clinical decision support functions, including drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking
Has consumer-facing patient education materials
Is compliant with the RxNorm
Include comprehensives reference information for the US including drug generic name, drug brand name, drug classifications, and eventually clinical dosage guidelines for calculating pediatric and adult doses

Lexicomp will be exhibiting at HIMSS 2012 in Las Vegas, from February 20 - 24. Stop by for a visit at Booth #5134 and learn more about the choices you have in drug information databases!

Will EMR vendors make the most of the Meaningful Use reprieve?

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 by Matt Bennardo

Nothing is final yet, but in all likelihood Meaningful Use Stage 2 won't kick in until 2014. In addition, some of the draft recommendations floating around look a lot like Stage 1 with stricter compliance levels. In other words: much of the work for Stage 2 is going to fall on EPs and hospitals, rather than on EMR vendors. There will likely be some new functionality -- especially around provider-patient communication -- but probably not the crush of requirements we saw in Stage 1.

So what will EMR, EHR, and HIS vendors do with their reprieve? If they're smart, they'll take this opportunity to improve their products in ways that aren't (yet!) required by Meaningful Use but which will give them an advantage in the market. Here's some functionality that EMRs may be using this reprieve to pursue:

Implementing dose range checking: From a clinical point of view, this is one of the big gaps in what we've seen so far in the first two stages of Meaningful Use. Many of the news stories we read about adverse drug events aren't about interactions or allergies at all -- they're about mistakes in dosing. This is especially true with pediatric dosing, which can be extremely complicated. If dosage precautions were more widely implemented, patient safety would be positively affected.
Addressing alert fatigue: Many EMR systems are likely to live or die based on this issue alone. Whoever can figure it out will have an undeniable benefit over the competition. As with many Meaningful Use issues, it starts with drug information vendors -- does yours provide the detail needed to make alerts intelligent?
Improving patient education: The new recommendations for Stage 2 Meaningful Use are all about provider-patient communication. And transcripts of workgroups show that CMS and ONC are very interested in improving not just the method of communication, but the quality of information that flows through it. It seems likely that this will eventually include things like specific patient education materials for pediatric and adult patients, delivered in the language they primarily speak.

EMR vendors that can solve some or all of these issues now will find themselves ahead of the game when the next round of MU guidelines come out. Not only that, but they'll be delivering real value to clinicians that sets them apart from all the other cookie-cutter competitors who are simply "checking boxes" on the Meaningful Use checklist.

But where to start? Lexicomp is a drug and clinical information vendor who can help with all of the items listed above -- and with many more as well. Call or fill out a form today to start learning about how Lexicomp can help you build value for your users, save money and development resources, and meet government requirements for your EMR system.

Dentistry Practice Management Systems Need Clinical Decision Support

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 by David White

EMR vendors are not the only ones rapidly deploying clinical decision support systems to healthcare providers. Dental professionals are demanding that their practice management systems overcome massive development hurdles in order to comply with Meaningful Use standards.

There is a buzz in the dental technology community about Meaningful Use and incorporating more clinical decision support into the practice management system workflow. If you are searching for the best dental specific drug database to integrate into your dental EMR, turn to Lexicomp. There are very few suppliers of drug data within the dental market and even fewer still that are easy to work with. And if you are looking for an easy-to-use, out-of-the-box ePrescribing tool, trust our partner DoseSpot to deliver the solution. What do all of these companies have in common? They are easy to work with and provide you with the ability to get to the market fast!

Don't wait to the end of your development process to worry about: dose range checking, pediatric dosing, drug calculators, medicine interactions, dosage precautions, clinical guidelines, drug interaction software, duplicate therapy, drug classifications, generic drug names, drug nomenclature and more. These are critical paths for a dental EMR build. But it's not just about the information. It's about who you select as your partner and who has seamless API's which makes your development easier.

You owe it to your product and your customer to make the right choice.

Looking for drug information to include in your EMR, EHR or HIS system?

Friday, May 6, 2011 by David Wilkof

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog posting that included a list of drug information considerations for EMR vendors that were launching new products or looking to improve their current products. As I wrote:

More and more EMR vendors and hospital EHR/HIS systems are attempting to improve their drug information to further enhance clinical decision support. Below are just a few areas where having the right medicine data can make all the difference in the world.

Drug Interaction Lists
Adverse Drug Event Alerts
Patient Education Pamphlets in 19 Languages
RxNorm Mapping
Pediatric Dosage Calculations
Drug Allergy Interactions
Clinical Guidelines
Drug Interaction Software
Drug - Drug Interactions
Drug - Allergy interactions

There are very few drug information providers in the marketplace that have both quality data and a top notch, customer-oriented support staff. Cerner/Multum and Lexicomp top the list. Lexicomp offers a unique blend of top quality information coupled with the finest internal support anywhere. Your IT guys will love you for going with Lexicomp -- a long-term partner in your road to success.

Looking for easy implementation? We've got you covered.

Friday, April 29, 2011 by Michelle Curren

What is holding you back from easy implementation? Perhaps you have a laundry list of items or perhaps money is constraint. Either way, look to Lexicomp for an intuitive database design that will help you seamlessly integrate complex drug databases into your system.

Other items that Lexicomp can help check off your list:

Allows for specific clinical decision support functions, including drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking
Has consumer-facing patient education materials
Is compliant with the RxNorm
Include comprehensive reference information for the US including drug generic name, drug brand name, drug classifications, and eventually clinical dosage guidelines for calculating pediatric and adult doses

So look around the market, investigate, but remember that Lexicomp can serve all your needs!

The Best Drug Information for EMRs, EHRs and other Patient Record Systems

Thursday, April 28, 2011 by David Wilkof

More and more EMR vendors and hospital EHR/HIS systems are attempting to improve their drug information to further enhance clinical decision support. Below are just a few areas where having the right medicine data can make all the difference in the world.

Drug Interaction Lists
Adverse Drug Event Alerts
Patient Education Pamphlets in 19 Languages
RxNorm Mapping
Pediatric Dosage Calculations
Drug Allergy Interactions
Clinical Guidelines
Drug Interaction Software
Drug - Drug Interactions
Drug - Allergy interactions

Lexicomp is a unique blend of top quality information coupled with the finest internal support anywhere. Your IT guys will love you for going with Lexicomp -- a long-term partner in your road to success.

Integrating drug and medicine data and information into your EHR, EMR and hopsitals

Friday, April 15, 2011 by David Wilkof

You know the old line, "Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't after me." Well, the same holds true for my assessment of integrating drug data and medicine data into EMRs, EHRs, HISs, etc. I guess, I would say it like this, "Ok, I admit I'm biased, but that doesn't mean I am wrong." Biased about what? That Lexicomp, a recent arrival in the drug data marketplace, is growing fast based on its quality of data, quality of support, quality of data structure, and affordable pricing.

We are in a fast changing marketplace, which makes the advantages of Lexicomp even more pronounced. As I said several months ago in one of my posts:

"America is a great country. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more EMRs (and related systems) in development in the United States than the rest of the world combined. Cultural and marketplace paroxysms create stress and discomfort, and at the same time result in major breakthroughs and great new products. That is what is going on this country, day by day. The great scramble is on. There is much pressure to do things quickly and get to the market rapidly before the doors begin closing."

Does the drug information you're using provide only the bare-bones basics, or will they provide access to enhanced functionality like:

Drug Interaction Lists
Adverse Drug Event Alerts
Patient Education Pamphlets in 19 Languages
RxNorm Mapping
Pediatric Dosage Calculations
Drug Allergy Interactions
Clinical Guidelines

Lexicomp will work you and be a partner in your efforts for growth and success.

Is Your EHR System Singing the Folsom Prison Blues?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 by Matt Snodgrass

As I was musing over what to write in this week's clinical decision support blog post, I recalled a post I wanted to write months ago but somehow never found time to. So, I'm bringing it out now, a little bit late, but still very relevant.

I'm a big fan of Johnny Cash. From his earliest work to his last few "American" recordings, his voice and music have an ethereal, timeless, and somewhat haunted quality that manage to connect and appeal to millions.

I love Christmas, too. It's my favorite holiday, hands down. The food, the family, the friends, the time off to just reflect and appreciate all that you have. Quite possibly, my favorite aspect of Christmas is listening to Christmas carols.

For Christmas last year, I received the "Christmas with Johnny Cash" CD and, as can be imagined, I was thrilled. Take two things that are wonderful of their own accord (Cash and Christmas carols), put them together, and you HAVE to get something greater than the sum of the individual parts, right?

Oh, how wrong I was. I'm saddened to say that this CD might be one of the worst I've ever listened to. One dreary dirge after another, mostly spoken word over top a few strummed guitar chords, with occasionally a gospel chorus in the background. It was nothing that I expected and after one listen my new CD was put away, likely never to be listened to again.

I started thinking of this and wondered, will your EHR fall into this same trap?

Any EHR system worth its salt has to have a solid drug information component as part of the backbone of the application. But just because you take a good EHR and good drug information content and put them together doesn't mean you're going to get a workable result that people can use easily.

Does the drug information you're using provide only the bare-bones basics, or will they provide access to enhanced functionality like:

Drug Interaction Lists
Adverse Drug Event Alerts
Patient Education Pamphlets in 19 Languages
RxNorm Mapping
Pediatric Dosage Calculations
Drug Allergy Interactions
Clinical Guidelines

Will they work with you as partners, to help you through integration, data structure issues, and making sure your system integrity is never compromised, like Lexicomp? Or will they sell you their data and walk away?

As an EHR vendor, you can't afford anything less than perfect alignment between your system and the information that ties into it. We'll help you make certain that you're combining the best aspects of each and ensure that the output is far greater than the sum of the inputs. So why not spend a few minutes getting to know Lexicomp?

Help Your Clients Get Their Share of EHR Incentives

Thursday, April 7, 2011 by Matt Snodgrass

The centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has paid out nearly $38 million in EHR incentives so far this year.

In order for your clients to meet many of the Meaningful Use guidelines and to quality for the EHR incentives, it's imperative to have a fully functional, evidence-based drug information provider tightly integrated into your system.

Lexi-Data, Lexicomp's clinical decision support database, will help your clients meet several aspects of clinical decision support required for certification. Here's how:

Drug Interaction Data - we'll provide your system data that enables clinicians to screen for drug interactions, including drug-allergy, drug-drug and drug-food
RxNorm Mapping - we promote interoperability through mapping to industry standard RxNorm
Drug Reference Data - integrate drug reference information, such as drug images and black box warnings, into your system
Patient Education Data - we provide patient education information that allows users to generate patient-specific handouts for medications (available in 19 languages), and conditions and procedures (available in English and Spanish)
Dose Range Checking - we provide data that enables clinicians to receive dosing alerts for medications, including limits for pediatric patients

Lexi-Data is designed for easy implementation. Our intuitive database design will help you seamlessly integrate complex drug databases into your system.

HITECH Act Drug Qualifications

Thursday, March 31, 2011 by Michelle Curren

Here are some of the qualifications that drug reference and drug interaction data must meet to qualify:

-- Must allow for specific clinical decision support functions, including drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking

-- Must have consumer-facing patient education materials

-- Must be compliant with the RxNorm (a medication list maintained by the National Library of Medicine)

-- Must include comprehensive reference information for the US including drug generic name, drug brand name, drug classifications, and eventually clinical dosage guidelines for calculating pediatric and adult doses

When looking for drug information that meets all these requirement, pick one that will partner with you to meet your needs, whether they be speed to market, budgetary, or customer service.

This is what one of Lexicomp's satisfied customers has to say:

"We spent months researching and investigating the competition. Lexi-Comp business partnering and licensing division gave us the tools we needed to test it in our application to assure our clinicians that we had a reliable and trustworthy source. Their responsiveness to inquiries and requests sold us on a solid partnership we could count on."

- Coletta Dorado, CEO of IntuitivEMR

If you are developing an EMR, EHR or other similar system, make the right drug data decision

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 by David Wilkof

America is a great country. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more EMRs (and related systems) in development in the United States than the rest of the world combined. Cultural and marketplace paroxysms create stress and discomfort, and at the same time result in major breakthroughs and great new products. That is what is going on this country, day by day. The great scramble is on. There is much pressure to do things quickly and get to the market rapidly before the doors begin closing. One thing the developing EMR company should not worry about is their selection for a provider of drug and medicine information.

There are only a few suppliers available. The EMR companies should decide based on which company will be the easiest to work with to facilitate the data integration, with appropriate support, APIs, and quality data. Check into Multum (part of Cerner) and Lexicomp.

These companies are experienced and respected in providing dosage precautions, pediatric dosing information, drug interaction software, clinical guidelines, Meaningful Use information, therapeutic dosages, drug-drug interaction, drug-allergy interaction and more. Make sure you make the right choice. You have other more important things to worry about.

Where can you get drug interaction data for HITECH Act compliance?

Friday, March 4, 2011 by Matt Bennardo

The HITECH Act (commonly known as "Meaningful Use") has some specific requirements for drug reference and drug interaction data which can be used to qualify for incentive money. There aren't many vendors that can provide such specific information, so it's important to shop around to every available seller. Lexicomp and Multum are two vendors that offer qualifying data.

Here are some of the qualifications that drug reference and drug interaction data must meet:
-- Must allow for specific clinical decision support functions, including drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking
-- Must have consumer-facing patient education materials
-- Must be compliant with the RxNorm (a medication list maintained by the National Library of Medicine)
-- Must include comprehensive reference information for the US including drug generic name, drug brand name, drug classifications, and eventually clinical dosage guidelines for calculating pediatric and adult doses

Both Lexicomp and Multum meet all of these criteria and more. Shopping around to different vendors may give you options that better fit your budget, development environment, support needs, or timeline. But always be sure to ask vendors if their information has been used yet by any EMR, EHR, or HIS vendors who have certified for Meaningful Use under the HITECH Act.

Meaningful Use in the palm of your hand

Friday, February 18, 2011 by Matt Snodgrass

With over 14,000 providers registering for Meaningful Use incentives, and the GOP considering repealing the law that has set aside funding for EHR adoption, there's never been a more critical time than now to focus on Meaningful Use.

Whether you're an EMR vendor, EHR manager, ePrescribing vendor, or anyone else in this quickly changing arena we call electronic healthcare, you'll want to check out Lexicomp's offerings at HIMSS2011 in Orlando, Florida - especially our transactional drug information database, Lexi-Data.

With 33 years of providing drug information, pediatric dosage calculations, drug interactions, and clinical guidelines, Lexicomp's trusted content is comprehensive, easy to use and, best of all, easy to implement. Having a trusted and knowledgeable support staff on hand to assist with any implementation or rollout questions will help ease the mind of even then most cynical project manager.

Are you going to HIMSS looking for a drug database provider?

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 by David Wilkof

As a result of a request made by someone who particularly liked one of my posts last month, I am reposting. This year at HIMSS should be pretty interesting, and maybe a bit chaotic and a little unsettling.   Meaningful Use was getting bandied about last year, but this year it is real, tangible and around the corner.

Whether you are an EMR vendor,   EHR manager,   ePrescribing vendor, or someone else in this dynamic and quickly changing business segment, you will want to see what it is going on. One of the areas that is a bit overlooked and undervalued until you have signed a long-term agreement (and it is too late to reconsider) is in the area of drug database information for clinical decision support.

The data is important, but equally important is the relationship with your drug information provider. Once you make your selection, you will be "stuck" with them for a very long time. Make the right choice.   Obviously, other areas for evaluation have to do with the level and sophistication of APIs that the vendor has or are under development.

Pediatric dosage calculations, drug interaction software, drug generic name, drug brand name, drug classifications, drug and medicine interactions, medicine lists, clinical guidelines, clinical information systems, and more, are all critical areas for consideration.

At HIMSS 2011 there will also be live demonstrations showing how our drug databases can be implemented and customized to meet the various specific needs of EMR vendors. Stop by and see us if you are a current customer or are looking to implement drug information or clinical decision support into your application, booth #6653.

Lexicomp will be attending HIMSS 2011 in Orlando. This will be a great opportunity for any EMR, Hospital, or Consumer Health Site to visit booth #6653 and learn about our solutions for implementing decision support for drug interactions, duplicate therapy, drug allergies, and dose range checking, as well as drug databases, and patient education information for consumers.

Charting the course to meaningful use in uncertain times

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 by Matt Snodgrass

According a recent Accenture study, roughly 50% of US hospitals are at risk of not meeting federal requirements for meaningful use guidelines. Most of the CIOs polled agree that their health systems have underestimated the time and cost it takes to implement EMR and clinical decision support systems. With Medicare-based penalties on deck for those that do not meet the MU criteria there's a lot of frenetic activity occurring to make sure systems are implemented quickly.

To highlight the importance of not only implementing the necessary technology but also of training and creating a culture and atmosphere that embraces the changes to an electronic system, Accenture notes that, "change management is as critical to success as information technology and execution."

Though government mandates and imposed fines for not meeting guidelines can help spur action through the "conform or else" mantra, encouraging adoption and facilitating an actual desire to use technology among the users is just as important as as the system itself.

Additionally, hospitals have seen up to an 80% increase in IT expenses while implementing an EMR system. While this may seem like an immensely cost-driven initiative, the flipside is far worse (loss of potential funding, government fines, lack of communicability and interoperability).

In an area fraught with so much apprehension from end users, such high chances for not meeting conformity requirements and such high potential for cost increases, it only makes sense to partner with a company that provides not only the necessary drug data to meet your needs but the level of service and support to assist you in getting up and running in a minimal amount of time, translating to lower costs for your clients.

As an EMR vendor, don't do yourself (and your clients) a disservice. Take a look at Lexicomp.

Investing Money into Meaningful Use: Know what to look for!

Sunday, January 30, 2011 by Michelle Curren

A report posted January 21, 2011 by iHealthBeat states, "Nearly 90% of U.S. hospitals will need to install or upgrade their electronic health record systems during the next three years to comply with the federal government's meaningful use requirements." Hospitals have the option to purchase a "ready made" from a vendor or to make their own. No matter what the case, be sure your drug information complies with meaningful use. While you are at, you might as well go above the requirements.

There are several components to look for drug information:dose range checking, pediatric dosing, drug calculators, medicine interactions, dosage precautions, clinical guidelines, drug interaction software, duplicate therapy, drug classifications, generic drug names, drug nomenclature and more. These are critical paths for an EMR build. But it's not just about the information. It's about who you select as your partner and who have seamless APIs which makes your drop easier.

Meeting with these vendors in person may help in picking the right partner. The HIMSS 2011 show in Orlando, Florida February 21 - 23 will showcase many of these partners, Lexicomp included!

Are you going to HIMSS and looking for a drug database provider?

Friday, January 28, 2011 by David Wilkof

This year at HIMSS should be pretty interesting, and maybe a bit chaotic and a little unsettling.   Meaningful Use was getting bandied about last year, but this year it is real, tangible and around the corner.

Whether you are an EMR vendor,   EHR manager,   ePrescribing vendor, or someone else in this dynamic and quickly changing business segment, you will want to see what it is going on. One of the areas that is a bit overlooked and undervalued until you have signed a long-term agreement (and it is too late to reconsider) is in the area of drug database information for clinical decision support.

The data is important, but equally important is the relationship with your drug information provider. Once you make your selection, you will be "stuck" with them for a very long time. Make the right choice.   Obviously, other areas for evaluation have to do with the level and sophistication of APIs that the vendor has or are under development.

Pediatric dosage calculations, drug interaction software, drug generic name, drug brand name, drug classifications, drug and medicine interactions, medicine lists, clinical guidelines, clinical information systems, and more, are all critical areas for consideration.

At HIMSS 2011 there will also be live demonstrations showing how our drug databases can be implemented and customized to meet the various specific needs of EMR vendors. Stop by and see us if you are a current customer or are looking to implement drug information or clinical decision support into your application, booth #6653.

Lexicomp will be attending HIMSS 2011 in Orlando. This will be a great opportunity for any EMR, Hospital, or Consumer Health Site to visit booth #6653 and learn about our solutions for implementing decision support for drug interactions, duplicate therapy, drug allergies, and dose range checking, as well as drug databases, and patient education information for consumers.

EMR company looking to get certification in the near future.

Friday, January 14, 2011 by David Wilkof

There are a lot of moving parts you will encounter as part of your certification process. One area that should not create additional complications is with drug databases for clinical decision-making support. This includes making sure you have the best drug-drug and drug-allergy calculators available. There are only a few vendors in the marketplace in a position to deliver the high quality drug information your customer needs.

But it's not just about the drug information. It's about the interface, service, assistance and support. Anyone can just send over drug information files. But it's another story to interact with the vendor...............and feel guilt. If you are looking to work with a drug data company (including: medicine lists, dosage administration, drug classifications, dosing calculators, pediatric calculators, clinical guidelines, medicine interactions, and more), Lexicomp likely will provide the best service, price and long term confidence. If you are looking to work with a good ePrescribing company, I would suggest DoseSpot. They have a terrific product and are great to work with.

Don't forget to check out these companies at HIMSS conference in Orlando in February.

More Indication of Growth in the EHR Marketplace

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 by Michelle Curren

Last Monday I posted that there was opportunity for a piece of the growing EHR marketplace with 4,000 companies jumping to start the registration process. Another sign of growth has been reported today by HealthData Management. According to a recent posting, "U.S. market for inpatient and outpatient electronic health records software was nearly $1.98 billion in 2009 and will steadily increase to $3.8 billion in 2015" as found in a new report by the research firm IDC Health Insights, Framingham, Mass.

These numbers can be further broken down in Ambulatory and Inpatient EHR electronic records software spending. Ambulatory EHR Spending by all types of providers totaled $633.5 million in 2009, rising in 2015 to $1.41 billion. Inpatient EHR Spending was $1.34 billion in 2009, rising in 2015 to about $2.4 billion.

With all this money being spent and more to come, it's not too late to get your software on the certification track with trusted drug data. Don't wait until the end of your development process to worry about: dose range checking, pediatric dosing, drug calculators, medicine interactions, dosage precautions, clinical guidelines, drug interaction software, duplicate therapy, drug classifications, generic drug names, drug nomenclature and more. These are critical paths for an EMR build. But it's not just about the information. It's about who you select as your partner and who have seamless APIs which makes your job easier.

You owe it to your product and your customer to make the right choice.

EHR vendors will live and die by their alerts

Sunday, January 2, 2011 by Matt Bennardo

Recently, my colleague Ryan Smith wrote a blog post about alert fatigue in EHR and EMR systems. One observation he made was this:

"In today's fast-paced healthcare industry, electronic health record (EHR) and other healthcare information system vendors need smart, current drug data that will enable their systems to drive patient safety and improve healthcare -- without generating a flood of annoying alerts that will only be ignored."

I honestly believe that many EHR and EMR companies will live and die by how they handle alerts -- literally. Alerts are (by design) the most visible part of the system's interface for most clinical users. For that reason, you can be sure that clinical users will have opinions on how they should work and whether yours are useful or not. And no matter how revolutionary your product is on the back-end, you'll be getting thumbs up or thumbs down from users based almost entirely on what they see and interact with.

Pick your partners wisely to help you delight your customers
That's why it's impossible to overstate the importance of partnering with data companies that can drive real intelligence in your clinical decision support systems. Lexicomp is a transactional data provider that also sells consumer-level products directly to thousands of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists. Over the past thirty years, they have built up expertise in delivering exactly what clinicians want -- especially related to drug reference information, drug interaction checking, patient education resources, and much more. Who better to partner with you as you build an EHR or EMR system that has the same needs?

Moreover, the data you use in checking medicine interactions, dose range checking, and other clinical decision support functions needs to be flexible enough to support a wide range of alert preferences and local clinical guidelines. A provider like Lexicomp is at the forefront of alert customization, and continues to constantly look for more ways to make alerts work for healthcare providers so your EHR system can thrive in a multitude of real world practices -- not just the hypothetical "paper practice" of meaningful use regulations and ONC-ATCB certification.