First DataBank signs licensing agreement with SIS

First DataBank, a leading provider of drug databases that help drive patient safety, and Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a provider of feature-rich perioperative software solutions, announced today they have signed an agreement whereby First DataBank will license its suite of comprehensive drug information and associated developer software to Surgical Information Systems to enable the integration of new functionality for drug screening, dosing and documentation within the SIS suite of interoperable surgery solutions.

“Our drug information will enable anesthesiologists and other providers of care in the operating room environment to improve medication-related decision making, providing essential patient safety protections.”

Surgical Information Systems is the perioperative specialist, providing solutions that cover the complete surgery and anesthesia care process. Flexible SIS solutions enable predictable outcomes to meet clinical, operational and financial goals. This helps physicians, clinicians and others involved in the care process to improve patient safety, optimize revenue, reduce costs and ensure compliance.

In its current release, SIS has integrated First DataBank’s comprehensive drug information to assist clinicians in performing key clinical drug screening and medication reconciliation functionality. In addition, SIS has utilized First DataBank’s drug information to perform pediatric dose range checking, in order to provide appropriate doses for this important patient population where dosing errors are more common.

First DataBank’s National Drug Data File (NDDF) Plus™, one of the healthcare industry’s most widely used sources of up-to-date drug information, supports safe medication prescribing throughout the medication use process. NDDF Plus combines drug descriptive and pricing information with an extensive array of clinical decision-support modules. It encompasses medications approved by the FDA, plus information on commonly-used over-the-counter and alternative therapy agents, such as herbals, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements.

“Embedding First DataBank drug content within our perioperative solutions, not only enables clinicians to access robust drug information and perform clinical screening, but also provides the ability to exchange patient medication and allergy information with other hospital IT systems that already rely on First DataBank for their drug and allergy clinical decision support,” said Ed Daihl, Chief Executive Officer, Surgical Information Systems.

Additionally, SIS has integrated First DataBank drug information to enable their clients to document medication information into the Continuity of Care Document (CCD) in order to enhance coordination of care between providers and to comply with the “meaningful use” and proposed interoperability standards set forth by the government in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

”We are pleased to license our drug information to SIS for their use in providing vital clinical drug screening capabilities for the perioperative department,” said Donald Nielsen, MD, President, First DataBank. “Our drug information will enable anesthesiologists and other providers of care in the operating room environment to improve medication-related decision making, providing essential patient safety protections.”