EHR Vendors Struggle with Meaningful Use

Over the past decade, the number of reports of adverse drug events has been on a dramatic rise.   The FDA currently uses an Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) which has seen a large increase on the number of reports coming in.  In fact, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy revealed in a new study of adverse events linked to medications─compiled by the FDA since 1969─that 55 percent have been reported to the agency in the past decade.


Drug makers are required by federal regulations to report possible health problems possibly linked to their products, but reporting by doctors, patients, and others is voluntary.  New safety warnings and technology making reporting easier could play a part in this increase in reports, but there may be other contributing factors.  With the current US populations aging, more and more people are taking multiple medications to treat multiple medical conditions.  This has been most apparent when I have spoken with a few nursing home and assisted living facilities who have relayed that a number of their patients currently have a medicine list of over 10 medications and some are as high as 20.  With all of these medication being taken together, it stands to reason that additional adverse drug events are reported.


There is drug information software available to help with checking medication lists for things like drug food interactions, drug-drug interactions, drug-allergy interactions, and drug-condition interactions that could potentially help reduce these adverse drug event reports.  In fact, software like Lexi-Data from Lexicomp has been included in a number of applications including EMRs, EHRs, analytic tools, and ePrescribing  solutions with the intent of screening in real time for adverse events while medication are being prescribed.  Also, new patient education materials that are easily understood by the patient can help reduce things like drug-food interactions by informing the patient of the potential.


While software systems generally rely on case studies or published information to screen for adverse drugs events, the increase in the number of reports to the FDA will hopefully help to identify additional adverse drug events that have yet to be identified, leading to better outcomes for patients in the future.