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The World Standard Drug Database
THE COMPREHENSIVE COMPUTERISED DRUG DATABASE LINKED TO MEDICAL CODING
2 Deanhill Road,
Email: Colin Duncton on colin@safescript.co.uk
East Sheen,
or Roger Weeks on roger@safescript.co.uk
London,
or contact info@safescript.co.uk
SW14 7DF
Tel: +44 (0) 208 876 1853
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 (0) 208 876 3249
FREE access to a web-enabled browser of the World Standard Drug Database
Click to view new drug products added this month
New UK drug products
New USA drug products
New Irish drug products
OR Download a free evaluation copy of SafeScript Interactive
Click here to download sample
database files
| Database Design | Database Function | Prescribing Information | Thesaurus Technology |
| Data Mapping | Software for Developers | Technical Details | Safescript Interactive |
From a design specification produced in 1986 by Dr Roger Weeks, SafeScript have created and developed a range of unique computer prescribing products for use by all prescribers - doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
The World Standard Drug Database relates knowledge about drug products and their ingredients to knowledge about individual patients held in (e.g.) Read Coded format in electronic clinical computer systems.
Why World Standard??? ........... because by using SafeScript Thesaurus Technology we can produce an interactive database for use in any country, to a defined standard, in local language, tailored to local medicinal product details and using locally used product and medical coding systems..
Use of the database integrated into clinical patient notes systems allows optimisation of prescribing, including intelligent flagging of contraindications and interactions etc, to help reduce prescriber errors. In other words this is a remarkable tool for preventing doctors making mistakes in prescribing.
Many features now make our product stand out amongst the other electronic databases which are currently available.
In addition, inclusion in the database, text from any available electronic
source (whether local prescribing policy and protocols, or full standard
references), should users require it, is straightforward, to provide large
amounts of authoritative information for users to peruse, which is then
accessible via our coding to the clinical patient record.
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The products all use the technology and functionality available in the World Standard Drug Database (WSDD), which is the core SafeScript development. The technology brings a new meaning to the term ‘decision support’, and provides a non threatening interaction with a prescriber to enable optimised and safe prescribing, by taking account of evaluated drug information and the patient’s electronic record to date i.e. it provides all the information necessary to make a decision, without forcing the prescriber in a particular direction. Back to top
Many prescribing systems are either too prescriptive, or inflict information overload, because there is little connection made between patient information and drug knowledge. SafeScript research has shown that users prefer concise, evaluated advice to be available at the moment of prescribing and dispensing, thus avoiding this problem.
INFORMATION AT THE POINT OF PRESCRIBING
With WSDD incorporated as a prescribing/drug information module into the Electronic Patient Medical Record (EPR/EMR) of any clinical computer system (for General Practice, Hospitals, or Community Pharmacies), prescribing is optimised to eliminate errors, to give ingredient based drug/drug interactions, indications. side effects, contraindications, drug use in pregnancy, lactation, liver and renal disease advice, flagged with specific linkage to matching clinical entries in the chosen patient’s EPR.
PRESCRIBING OPTIMISED
Users of SafeScript
technology are able to optimise their prescribing for:
· Safety - prevents and reduces fatalities, morbidity and serious
drug reactions and interactions.
· Cost vs Benefit - WSDD provides quantitative and qualitative
costing algorithms.
· Evaluated Ingredient Information - not reliant on generalised
guidance.
· Physician Warnings - both ‘ingredient’ and ‘product’ based.
· Patient Advice and Warnings - both ‘ingredient’ and ‘product’
based.
· Standardised Coding Terminology to allow valid prospective
and retrospective audit and research.
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SafeScript
THESAURUS TECHNOLOGY
The database is backed by a massive, hierarchically arranged, organised thesaurus of terms, which contains data from authoritative texts used in prescribing, as well as the whole of the Read Codes, and in-house data, and was produced originally as part of the European Prescribing project OPADE.
This thesaurus is the first and only work to provide comprehensive standardisation of all terms used in prescribing and our sophisticated data processing routines enable substitution of non-standard terms by acceptable standard ones.
The thesaurus has hierarchical placing and linkage of the various prescribing words and terms included, thus defining their meaning in a context-sensitive way.
It contains the whole of Read Version 2 five character codes, Read Version 1 four and five character codes, dosage regimens, drug forms, and other terms developed by SafeScript. Cross referenced links to Read Version 3 codes and dm+d codes are incorporated as comprehensive electronic maps. Ingredient structuring was originally developed using an expanded Martindale Thesaurus, and this has now been considerably enhanced by SafeScript to increase specific definition and hierarchical meaning.
Hence no manual addition of data (by e.g. typing data) occurs, and all engineering, generation, and linkage of data is undertaken electronically. Consequently assurance of validity and quality of data and structure can be guaranteed.
The thesaurus thus allows ‘machine readable’ terms to be used for prescription checking and quality assurance giving the products an extremely high degree of accuracy.
Drug-Drug Interaction messages are ‘ingredient’ based, rather than ‘product-group’ based, and provide user friendly messages. These messages are fully evaluated and updated to reflect current opinion.
Ingredients are ‘administration-route specific’ where applicable, and are hence coded to sub-Ingredient level - i.e. an ingredient administered topically will have different properties to the same ingredient administered systemically, etc.
It is hard to overvalue the value of the content of the thesaurus. It is not an exaggeration to say that it forms the basis for standardisation of drug and prescribing terminology for Europe and the Rest of the World. No other organisation has even attempted to do the massive amount of work entailed in its production.
The thesaurus may be simply translated into other languages thus allowing WSDD to be used in all countries of the world. The database is thus easily transportable to all countries by mapping to the particular drug product list for each country. Back to top
WSDD is the key map to other drug and prescribing sources including:
Read (all versions), ICD9, ICD10, OPCS4, SnomedCT, British National Formulary
codes, Martindale coding, APBI Datasheets and SPCs, PIP codes (plus a variety
of other pharmaceutical product codes), PPA codes, EAN numbers, NDC codes
and ATC codes, and full mapping to the NHS dictionary of medicines and
devices (dm+d)
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In addition to use of the data in GP user sites in the UK, together with some Pharmacy System developers and a growing number of hospitals, SafeScript have developed a simple database browser, a prototype browser/EPR with Graphical User Interface for hospital use, a sophisticated Web-enabled browser, and insertion software for all major GP software suppliers. We also have available a DLL which enables use of our compiled files, together with an associated Visual Basic wrapper. An API to raw data is straightforward (using e.g Microsoft Advanced Data Objects), as we publish full field and table listings. Other specific interfaces can be produced for individual users. Back to top
Download sample drug database files with supporting
documentation
UK Drug Database samples
USA Drug Database samples
Irish Drug Database samples -
now available - please contact SafeScript for further details
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The UK version of the World Standard Drug Database is a set of hierarchically arranged, linked data tables, designed for incorporation into an electronic clinical system, and is essentially in two linked parts:
1. A drug products database (usually updated monthly - weekly updates available).
This ‘simple’ drug product database contains over 50,000 drug and appliance products and the following associated data:
Read codes version 1, 2 and 3 (where appropriate) - with full maps to
dm+d coding.
30 and 60 and 198 character term descriptions
Parsed and standardised Drug name, strength, flavour, and form
Manufacturer quantity and pack form
Drug Units
Comprehensive search keywording, including mis-spellings, synonyms
and foreign products
Ingredients for all products, with separately coded strengths
Patient advisory messages
Manufacturers/Suppliers
Default dosages, indication-specific guideline dosages, and full dosage
information from drug product manufacturer
Maximum dose per day and at one time
Usually prescribed quantities
Pack size and Price information
Drug type - Proprietary or Generic
Drug Legal Category and ‘Controlled Drug’ status
Product availability
Prescribing and Drug Tariff status (NHS, FP10, Nurses and Dentists,
etc.)
CSM warning status
Prescription annotation (ACBS, SLS, Part VIII and all other Drug Tariff
requirements, Zero Discount etc.)
Full maps to EAN, PIP, dm+d, ATC, BNF, ICD9, ICD10, OPCS4 etc
Links to full drug product SPCs and PILs
Other similarly structured National drug product databases are available
for use within the USA and the Republic of Ireland, and are under development
for European, Australasian, African and South American countries.
Each drug product database is linked via coded ingredients to:
2. The Ingredients database - a comprehensive drug ingredients database in which all terms in each field are related to a massive standardised, coded, comprehensive, ordered thesaurus.
Hence the World Standard Drug Database contains fully coded, ingredient-based properties, as follows:
Indications
Contraindications
Side Effects
Pharmacological group
Prescriber messages
Use in Pregnancy
Use in Lactation
Use in Renal disease
Use in Liver disease
Patient messages
Drug-drug Interactions
Drugs affecting Diagnostic Tests and Therapeutic procedures
Pharmacological actions
Toxicity
Additional tables of data are available with results of a variety of comparison algorithms
Drug Product Equivalence (includes generic equivalence)
Dosage suitability and adjustment algorithms
Cost comparison of products within definable groupings
Alcohol and Food Interactions
Chemical group
Links to eBNF Monographs and to Martindale Monographs can be
provided, and are subject to separate licensing arrangements.
All these attributes are linked to their relevant thesaurus entry, including linkage to Read Coded Diseases, Symptoms, Signs, and Biochemical states.
Drug-drug Interactions
SafeScript Drug interactions are held in the Pharmacological actions and interactions thesaurus written by SafeScript, and derived originally from the Martindale thesaurus of terms. The interaction message consists of a message, describing the nature, frequency and severity of the interaction, and advice on how to proceed if the prescriber decides to continue with giving his patient the pair of drugs involved in the interaction. The message is ‘ingredient’ based, rather than product-group based, and is illustrated by the following example:
Chlorpropamide + Nortriptyline
Infrequent reports of NORTRIPTYLINE increasing the HYPOGLYCAEMIC effect of CHLORPROPAMIDE. Usually no risk. Usually no action necessary
An alternative set of BNF Interactions, which are simpler, and include
many clinically less important interactions, but also on an ingredient
basis, is also included.
Other included features are:
Addition of ‘E’ numbers to relevant ingredients (also keyworded)
Addition of non-active minor ingredients to proprietary products (where
information available)
Chemical Abstracts Reference Numbers
Chemical Names, Formulae and Molecular Weights of ingredients
Localised Drug Tariff differences and requirements, including full
prescription endorsement information for Pharmacy Systems
Comprehensive Read Coding of Lactation, Pregnancy, Renal Disease and
Liver Disease warnings
Default Routes of Administration
Recommended International Non-Proprietary Names (rINN), British Approved
Names (BAN) and other Ingredient synonyms
Methods of administration for intravenous products
Keyword search for identification of International proprietary products
Incorporation of OTC, Herbal, Homoeopathic, ‘Clinical Trials’,
‘Specials’, and ‘Extemporaneous’ products
Toxicology data, plus Hazard and Toxicity data (including COSHH)
Dosage Selector tables
Choice of use of ingredient-based SafeScript
or British National Formulary Interactions
Conclusion
A comprehensive drug database providing useful, user friendly features
including indications, interactions, contraindications, side effects, therapeutic
choices and patient messages - the World Standard Drug Database - is now
available. Current guidelines to achieve both accreditation for primary
care (RFA), and specifications for secondary care, have been followed,
and are easily exceeded, setting a new standard in drug database specification.
Further information available from Dr Roger Weeks or Colin Duncton
SafeScript Limited
2 Deanhill Road,
Email: Colin Duncton on colin@safescript.co.uk
East Sheen,
or Roger Weeks on roger@safescript.co.uk
London,
or contact info@safescript.co.uk
SW14 7DF
Tel: +44 (0) 208 876 1853
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 (0) 208 876 3249
Download a FREE fully functional copy of
SafeScript
Interactive
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