Drug Allergy Checking

Drug and interactions data is important to EMR and EHR systems -- it's what powers the clinical decision support functionality that makes it possible to write ePrescriptions, to qualify for Meaningful Use, or to save a patient's life by identifying an interaction or allergy that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

But too often, EMR vendors don't spend much time looking at the quality of that data. It's a mistake to write off quality altogether -- but luckily there's an easy way to know if data sources are trusted by clinicians. Who uses it, and how? If doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and other clinicians are spending their own money to purchase that same data in reference resources, you can be pretty certain that they consider its quality to be good.

For thirty years, Lexicomp has been selling direct to clinicians
You know that Lexicomp's drug and interactions data is clinically relevant because that's who it was designed for, and that's who has been buying it for thirty years. Lexicomp would never have survived as a company if clinicians weren't willing to stake their professional careers on that data every day.

Now with Lexi-Data, your EMR or EHR can make use of that same information that clinicians have been relying on for years. When they check an interaction in your EMR, they'll see the same answer they get when they check Lexicomp's reference resources. Your EMR could be as trusted a source of information as Lexicomp's references already are.

That's powerful. It means that clinicians will turn to your EMR for answers, and will be more willing to use it. With more usage, your customers will more easily qualify for Meaningful Use -- collecting incentives and avoiding penalties. That makes it easier for you to show the value of the system.

Instead of writing out prescriptions on a piece of paper, doctors will perform this function directly into their electronic medical record.  The prescription travels from their computer to the pharmacy’s computer. Electronic prescriptions are sent electronically through a private, secure, and closed network – the Surescripts network.

In speaking with a number of EMR developers and in reviewing many products which integrate clinical decision support utilizing commercial drug database, a few things have become apparent.  One of the the biggest challenges is to integrating clinical decision support for functions like drug-drug, drug-allergy, drug condition interaction checking  in a meaningful way that is not disruptive to a clinicians workflow. Many times just throwing alerts at clinicians can lead to alert fatigue and eventually alerts will be ignored.  In my experience, having a clinical resource to help with development will pay big dividends in the end.

Another aspect that can prove beneficial is what types of alerts you choose to show users.  Lexicomp has recently rolled out another aspect of drug-drug interaction within it's Lexi-Data product called risk rating.  By utilizing risk rating along with the more commonly known drug interaction severity, more impactful and actionable alerts can be provided to clinicians which will ultimately improve patient care and reduce alert fatigue for clinicians. 

Whether you are building a complete EMR, ePrescribing application, or mobile medical app utilizing drug interaction software, proper integration of the data is the key.  Taking the time and utilizing the right product that is easy to integrate and provides meaningful alerts will ultimately lead to product you can be proud of.

• 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

Are you developing EMRs and practice management systems where speed to market is critical?   One of the modules of such systems is the inclusion of drug information.    Since this is neither the expertise of your developers nor your content people,  it is important to identify the preferred drug information provider early in the process.   Four criteria are critical in making this decision.   First, quality of information.  Second,  flexibility of design and APIs.   Third, simplicity of data structure.   Fourth, and very important, customer support during the development period and after release.    More and more EMRs are now using Lexicomp drug information as part of their offering.  And there is a reason for that.

Lexi-Data is the foundation of Lexicomp's clinical decision support architecture is quickly becoming the standard for when companies need an up-to-date comprehensive drug database.  This product provides patient specific alerts and referential content to support sound treatment decisions in areas such as drug interaction checking (drug-drug and drug-food), drug allergy checking, therapeutic duplication checking, RxNorm Mappings, supports Surescripts Certification,  Drug Classifications, dose range checking (adult and pediatric), Patient Education, Pediatric and neonatal drug interactions and more. 

1. Meaningful Use support: Including drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking
2. Superior customer service: Every customer receives personal service, no matter the size
3. Advanced filtering options: A unique system of complex filters allows users to target Black Boxed Warnings to particular users and circumstances
4. Trusted content and name: Thousands of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, and other clinicians buy information direct from Lexicomp because they trust it
5. Full support for eprescribing: Customers have used Leicomp's clinical decision support to create their own e-prescribing modules for EMRs and EHRs

• Compatible with required standards like RxNorm
• Supports drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking
• All data necessary for ePrescribing and CPOE
• Additional functionality like dose range checking

• Easy-to-use APIs and web services -- you choose which you want
• Superior one-on-one customer service
• Most intuitive data structure and fastest implementation

• Black Box Warning filters to alleviate clinician alert fatigue
• Patient education available in 19 languages

• Compatible with required standards like RxNorm
• Supports drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking
• All data necessary for ePrescribing and CPOE
• Additional functionality like dose range checking

• Easy-to-use APIs and web services -- you choose which you want
• Superior one-on-one customer service
• Most intuitive data structure and fastest implementation

• Black Box Warning filters to alleviate clinician alert fatigue
• Patient education available in 19 languages

• 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.

•   Drug - allergy checking
•   Drug - drug interaction
•   Duplicate therapy checking
•   Drug lists

What do these words have in common?  "Pediatric dosing information; Medicine lists; Medicine brand names;  Drug-drug interaction;  Drug-allergy interactions; Drug interaction database; ePrescribing;  Patient education."  

There are many EMR products under development, many targeting smaller hospitals and ambulatory facilities.  There are also a number of other EMR and Practice Management products that are going through major product re-design.  Many of these development groups need to confront the decision about what drug information supplier to use.  As the title of this posting says "EMR developers are now searching for drug and disease information providers that are easy to work with" (Note: most are not).   This might not sound like a tall order, but as it turns out, it is much more difficult than they think.   It's about the data as much as it about the quality of the relationship as well as the flexibility and helpfulness of the vendor. 

How much will they help in setting up the API's?  Do they have a specific pediatric dose range checking product?  Do they have patient education leaflets? Are they available in foreign languages? 

                         One drug data provider stands out above else....Lexicomp.  If your serious, check them out.