Drug Interaction Data for EHRs and ePrescribers

With all the focus on improving patient care with electronic medical records, it's strange that most medication and clinical data vendors don't allow developers to meaningfully use Black Box Warnings in their products. But one vendor, Lexicomp, is leading the way with detailed, customizable warnings that add value across the continuum of care.

What are Black Box Warnings and how do they help?
Black Box Warnings (also called Black Boxed Warnings) are the FDA's highest class of medication warning -- it indicates a precaution of the highest concern to patients or clinicians. They get their name from the distinctive black box that surrounds the warning on the packaged information that comes with drugs.

Not all Black Box Warnings are alike. Some are relevant at the time a drug is prescribed, others at the time the prescription is filled, and others when the drug is administered or stored. For this reason, different warnings are most likely to apply to different clinicians (or even the patient) along the continuum of care. Similarly, some warnings are only applicable to patients with special conditions (e.g., pregnancy), and some are considered by clinicians to be "obvious" warnings (e.g., only oncologists may prescribe cancer treatment regimens).

Yet, the information included in these warnings is very important -- so long as they are delivered at the right time to the right people. They can help save lives, reduce liability, and reduce the cost of care.

How do you get Black Box Warnings into your EMR system?
Until recently, there was no good way to get this information in an EMR, EHR, or HIS system. Some drug information vendors offer an indicator on their drug monographs that simply states "YES" or "NO" whether the drug has an associated Black Box Warning. It's still up to every clinician in the continuum of care -- the prescribing doctor, the fulfilling pharmacist, the administering nurse -- to look up those warnings in the drug's packaged inserts to see if they apply to them. This is an unnecessary extra step that could potentially lead to crucial missed information!

Lexicomp offers a better way. With Lexicomp, detailed information is provided about each Black Box Warning. In addition to the full text of the warning and additional context written by Lexicomp's staff of in-house experts, the warnings are all classified to make it easy to customize which ones appear for which clinicians. You can reduce alert fatigue by ensuring that only relevant warnings appear for particular clinicians or patients. Not only will your EMR be improving patient safety, but it will be making life easier for all of your users as well!