One big, and pretty persistent, problem that hospitals face is drug shortages: a survey of health systems showed that 100% were affected by drug shortages in the previous year, which was estimated to add 8.6 million staffing hours and a cost of $359 million. On top of that, drug shortages can also lead to potential delays in patients receiving the treatments they need.
One company that's trying to help fix that problem is LogicStream Health, a provider of a cloud-based software application, called The Drug Supply App, that is used to mitigate and manage the risk of drug shortages. The application, which is running in more than 230 hospitals across the U.S., helps save time and money by providing instant insights into potential drug supply problems.
Now, the company is looking to help hospitals and health systems save time when they run into drug shortages through a collaboration with First Databank (FDB), a provider of drug knowledge that helps healthcare professionals make precise decisions.
Through this collaboration, which was announced earlier this week, LogicStream will be able to include embedded guidance from FDB MedKnowledge, thereby allowing health systems to reduce staff time with alternative drug therapy recommendations when an ordered drug isn't available.
"Clinical and supply-chain staff using The Drug Supply App will be better equipped to reduce dependence on the medications affected by drug shortages by quickly adapting purchasing, EHR content and modifying prescribing to incorporate safe, effective, alternative medications," Patrick Yoder, PharmD, CEO of LogicStream Health, explained to VatorNews.
FDB, which is part of the Hearst Health network, provides drug knowledge that is integrated into the clinical workflows of physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, helping them make more precise medication-related decisions to improve patient outcomes and medication safety. The solution include regularly updated drug product nomenclature, drug descriptive elements, unique identifiers, and drug classification systems, which facilitate interoperability with health information systems and data quality.
FDB MedKnowledge also presents the best available drug pricing information and offers clinical modules, including drug allergy, drug-disease contraindications, drug-drug interactions, drug-food interactions, side effects, and precautions, which assist clinicians with dosing, medication screening, and accurate prescribing.
FDB’s database solutions also recommend therapeutic alternatives when a proposed drug is contraindicated or is not available due to a drug supply shortage.
"FDB MedKnowledge embedded inside The Drug Supply App shortens the time to identifying effective drug therapies to mitigate a drug shortage by providing trusted guidance about therapeutic alternatives. Clinicians are very familiar with FDB’s medication decision support, given widespread adoption of FDB MedKnowledge," said Yoder.
LogicStream believes that, with this partnership, uts customers will generate quick payback on their investment in The Drug Supply App by having the medications they need on hand, when and where they are needed.
"Our goal is clear – we want to deliver a highly valuable and useful solution that makes customers extremely delighted and helps them mitigate the potential consequences of a drug shortage or supply issue so that they can continue to deliver better patient care," said Yoder.
"LogicStream is an exceptionally innovative company with a very sharp focus on the needs of its customers. Delighting customers with innovative solutions is the top priority at LogicStream. Our values are in sync with FDB and the reason we are determined to pursue a collaboration to help solve the drug shortage problem."
(Image source: fdbhealth.com)
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