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

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTS

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