As more and more healthcare professionals are adopting EMR technology to meet Meaningful Use requirements, we are receiving more and more interest from dentists about adding clincial decision support technology into their dental practice management system. They are quickly realizing that Lexicomp is the preferred vendor of choice to work with, because we provide the very best dental specific drug database to integrate into their EMRs as well as personalized customer support during development. Another important piece to consider in a dental EMR is an ePrescribing tool. Lexicomp has a close partnership with DoseSpot to deliver this solution. By selecting DoseSpot for ePrescribing, our clients are able to get to the market faster and reduce their headaches in developing the tool on their own.
Lexi-Data provides the drug information for 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.
To learn more about Lexicomp's dental solutions, please visit our website at http://www.lexi.com/individuals/dentistry/
If you are interested in learning more about our integration capabilities, we'd love to talk with you. Please contact us at 1-877-819-6883.
Lexicomp has now released the second phase of a comprehensive web services solution to EMR developers to access drug information. For those EMR and Practice Management systems that do not want to store drug information in their product, they now have an option. In the second phase, Lexicomp has released web services to include a proprietary Black Box warning decision tool to reduce alert overload. Phase II also include dose range checking (DRC) and 12 new searching tools.
For EMR developers that have need for any of the following drug nformation or tools in their product, Pediatric Dose Range Checking (Lexicomp is the leader in this area); Patient Education Materials; Drug Interaction Software; RxNorm Mapping; Medicine Lists, Generic Drugs; Dose Information; ePrescribing, and more--- they should call Lexicomp.
As Matt Bennardo pointed out, when EMR and EHR companies are under development and they are looking to include drug and medicine information, they must given proper consideration to the quality of the drug information, the ease of installation, and the level of customer service provided by the drug data provider. In order to meet the Meaningful Use standards, the EMR and EHR developers now care more about drug and medicine information than ever before. They now care about drug interactions, drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions, adverse drug events, patient education pamphlets, dose information, pediatric dosing inforamation, drug brand names and drug generic names.
Hundreds of Lexi-Data customers are now integrating Lexicomp reference and transaction drug information into their systems under development. As Matt had said:
"Comprehensive data covers all decision support Meaningful Use requirements:
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
Fastest and easiest integration gets you to market faster:
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
New features set you apart from the competition:
Black Box Warning filters to alleviate clinician alert fatigue
Patient education available in 19 languages
Click the links on this page to find out more about Lexi-Data now!"
Anyone who has been exposed to electronic order entry has experienced the dreaded "alert fatigue". If the goal of electronic prescribing is to improve patient safety and outcomes, alerting clinicians to potential drug interactions or other dosing precautions is necessary. In our current information age, there is a plethora of information available regarding medication safety and potential safety issues with the use of medications. In an attempt to help clinicians sift through all this information, the FDA has established the use of a "Black Box Warning" to call attention to the most important safety issues. A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reviewed several drug information providers comparing their ability to identify black box warnings and confirmed that Lexicomp is the leader in this area.
In an effort to incorporate this valuable information into the clinician's busy workflow, Lexcomp has recently enhanced their Lexi-Data product to include Black Box Warnings. The Black Box Warnings table allows system vendors to present critical medication safety information from these warnings within a health information system. The data is also structured in a way that will allow the system vendors to filter which alerts are presented, allowing for instance a prescriber to see warning specific to the ordering process and a pharmacist seeing warnings more relevant to the dispensing process.
Improving patient safety requires the use of "intelligent alerting", Lexi-Data has given system vendors the ability to present critical safety information in a meaningful way.
Alert fatigue is related to the barrage of messages provided clinical decision support systems which can overwhelm a provider and cause them to ignore messages. The alerts, while found to be helpful in some cases, can result in a type of "fatigue" whereby the provider, after receiving too many alerts, begins to ignore and/or override the alerts. Receiving too many alerts can result in slowing the provider down rendering the alert useless.
One of the key reasons that clinicians are frustrated with decision support related to drug interaction software is the potential for this alert fatigue. Clinicans do not want to be messaged regarding dosage precautions related to an interaction which has already been recognized and addressed. It is particularly important in the era of electronic prescribing to engineer systems which can present the appropriate information to the appropriate person. Systems need to recognize whether an individual has previously addressed the issue, rather than simply blindly alerting to the presence of two medications within the medicine list. A collaborative effort between drug database providers and application vendors is needed, and discussions to improve the quality of alerts, while decreasing the quantity, are moving forward. These will greatly improve satisfaction with these tools.
Not all clinical information is structured the same! The more detail that your medication and clinical information vendor provides about crucial alerts, the easier it is for you to implement customization for your users. If every alert looks the same (which is true of what many vendors provide!), then that means that your users will have to go through them all one by one, setting their preferences on warnings and dosage precautions by hand. Then they have to keep their settings up to date as new alerts are added. That's not user friendly design!
By contrast, Lexicomp's implementation of Black Box Warnings (also called Black Boxed Warnings) gives a great deal of flexibility to developers to allow for multi-dimensional customization. Each warning contains information about which clinician the alert is intended for, how severe the alert is, and whether the alert applies only to patients with specific conditions (e.g., pregnancy).
Win customer loyalty by automating alert customization! This way, you can automate much of the customization without having to ask for input from every individual user. You can simply have the system hide alerts intended for nurses from pharmacists, and vice-versa. Likewise, you can make your system intelligent enough to hide alerts related to pregnancy from male patients. This is the kind of smart implementation that users are looking for to help them aviod alert fatigue and become more efficient and effective clinicians. Talk to Lexicomp today to learn more!
It is estimated that each year some 530,000 adverse drug events take place among Medicare beneficiaries alone because of drugs negatively interacting with other drugs the patient is already taking, or insufficient information about the patient’s medical history. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported last year that more than 1.5 million Americans are injured annually by drug errors in hospitals, nursing homes and doctor’s offices. These negative drug events may require costly interventions in order to stabilize the patient, including hospitalization.
Electronic prescribing (eRx) has been recognized as an important step in moving health care from a paper-based legacy to a new electronic platform. The use of ePrescribing has been incentivized by the federal government, specifically via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Lexi-Data is the foundation of Lexi-Comp's clinical decision support architecture. 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, Drug Classifications, dose range checking (adult and pediatric) and more.
In the last several years that have been more and more EMR entrants into the ambulatory marketplace. As part of the development of these products they have been required to include drug information as part of their clinical decision support solution. Lately there have been more requests to provide this drug and medicine information by way of web services calls rather than embedding the data directly into the product. Often times there might be limitations on the EMR's development team and accessing this drug information through web services call could be the simpler solution.
Lexicomp recently released web services calls for drug information that would cover Meaningful Use Stage 1. So for EMRs in the development stage looking for:
In the last two years Lexicomp has quickly become a major provider of drug information to EMR companies for clinical decision support. Many of the new EMRs hitting the market are using Lexicomp medicine information for drug interactions, dose range checking, therapeutic dosages, adverse drug advents, electonic eprescring, and more. Lexi-Data has become the popular choice based on top quality information, unparalleled customer service, state-of-the-art data structure and top-notch APIs. Now something new!!
Lexi-Data has introduced a new structure which allows for the customization of Black Boxed Warning to reduce alert fatigue, yet at the same time delivers the warning to the person who needs it most. This information structure is new and as far as we know not available elsewhere.
API and Database Features:
Incorporates not only the BBW as published within the package insert, but also pulls contextual or supporting information as written by Lexicomp clinical experts
Each summary is broken down and tagged as separate messages / instructions
Each message is paired to a recipient user category – this allow for differentiating where in the workflow of an EMR the message may be displayed
Can be filtered for a more specific and targeted set of messages to clinician/recipient groups, as defined for their site
This is terrific stuff. So for anyone developing drug interaction software or eprescribing modules, this is something you will want to look into.
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.
One of the key reasons that clinicians are frustrated with decision support related to drug interaction software is the potential for alert fatigue. Clinicans do not want to be messaged regarding dosage precautions related to an interaction which has already been recognized and addressed. It is particularly important in the era of electronic prescribing to engineer systems which can present the appropriate information to the appropriate person. Systems need to recognize whether an individual has previously addressed the issue, rather than simply blindly alerting to the presence of two medications within the medicine list. A collaborative effort between drug database providers and application vendors is needed, and discussions to improve the quality of alerts, while decreasing the quantity, are moving forward. These will greatly improve satisfaction with these tools.
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?
There have been thousands of articles written discussing why EMR adoption rates have been so low and why physicians especially have been resistant to moving into the electronic age. Little return on the initial investment, lack of efficiency in the system and no improvements in patient outcomes have been listed as reasons for reduced adoption rates.
One key element to the lack of efficiency and little improvement in patient care is due to the number of alerts that are generated when trying to use these systems. As a pharmacist, I enter in hundreds of medication orders in a shift and it is rare that I do so without receiving an alert from my HIS telling me about a drug interaction or duplicate therapy. These alerts although technically accurate, often involve medicine interactions that are so minor or irrelevant to hospital medicine.
If an HIS truly wants to improve patient care and become an indispensable part of medicine, it must provideclinical decision supportthat can accurately and appropriately give clinicians therapeutic alerts that are relevant and can help improve patient care. That is the goal of Lexi-Data. For more information about Lexi-Data, check out www.lexi.com.
Back in January of this year, I wrote about the steady increase of Electronic Health Records/Electronic Medical Records with the market projected to be at $3.8 billion in 2015. Now, according to this report, "The U.S. EMR market is expected to grow from $2,177 million in 2009 to $6,054 million in 2015." This number is almost double!!
What I said back in January continues to apply today, as it is still not too late to get your software certified with trusted drug data. Don't wait until the end of your development process to worry about: medicine interactions, a drug reference database, pediatric dosing, dose ranges and more. But it's not just about the information. It's about who you select as your partner and who has seamless APIs to make your job easier.
So leave the drug content to us and know you have made the right decision.
What do all of these have in common? Well for one thing, they are being driven in part by the demands of Meaningful Use requirements. Here is just one example of Meaningful Use effect. Some of the demands are actually in place, and many others roll out over the next few years. EPrescribing in Florida looks like it might be taking an interesting turn as free application provided by the State may be going away, or so I have heard. This recently posted ePrecribing blog described it in greater detail. And a second blog.
As Meaningful Use requirements have dictated more relevant application of medication and drug data within EMR and EHR systems, the awareness of the nuances of these databases has also gone up. Recognition of the following terms is becoming more commonplace: Drug Reference Database; Dosage Range, Dosing in Pediatrics, Drug Interaction List, Pediatric Dosage Calculator, Medicine Interaction. Clinical Decision Support Systems, Drug Content, and more.
Matt Bennardo had a great post last week regarding a study which showed the connection between EHRs and their improvement on pediatric care.
With several pediatric calculators on the market, how can one tell which to trust? A reference book can be helpful, yet many other considerations should be taken into account. It is vital to screen drug interactions with the full medicine list of the child along with their maturation. Having all this information readily available with an EMR can vastly work to reduce errors. When dealing with pediatrics, especially neonatal patients, attention to detail and continually updated, unbiased information is best. Lexicomp has all the options to achieve improved safety for patients of any age.
These options include:
Pediatric Dosage Calculations in both transactional information for the clinical decision support systems and reference materials designed for clinicians.
There has been a race by existing and new EMR companies to get new products into the marketplace as soon as possible. And now with both the reimbursement benefits and soon to follow requirements related to eprescribing, we have seen additional products and add-on modules hit the marketplace. Many of these new products and new companies have approached Lexicomp to secure drug and medicine information to include in these products.
Lexicomp as a drug data provider for these systems appeared on the scene several years ago and has quickly increased market share for these new products under development. Why so?
There are probably three reasons for this quick ascent. First, good and reliable information. Second, a great internal IT team to work with for development purposes. They are talented, friendly and easy to work with. It's great to have APIs available, but if the support you receive from your data provider is weak, unfriendly, or non-existent, then how much does it help you? Finally, the data structure of the files is terrific. It is elegant, logical and easy to use to.
Some existing EMR and EHR companies have found it challenging to switch over current products due to their reliance on the structure of data from their current provider, even though they very much wanted to make that shift. However, as more and more of the companies are developing new products and new modules, they are making the shift and not looking back.
So if you are an EHR, EMR, or HIS and are looking for the best way to include the following information in your product, Lexicomp is definitely worth a conversation:
- Patient Education leaflets - Drug interaction databases - Drug-drug interaction data - Drug information for meaningful use - Drug - allergy interaction checking - Pediatric drug dosing charts and information - Medicine brand and generic names - Adverse drug events checking - Drug information for clinical information support.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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