UpToDate and UpToDate Lexidrug are key components for achieving highest standards at International Medical Center

Evidence-based clinical resources support care quality and medical knowledge

IMC selected UpToDate^® Lexidrug^™ and UpToDate, the flagship drug reference and clinical decision support solutions from Wolters Kluwer, to support medication therapy decisions at the point of care and medication order reviews.

IMC prioritizes training and education of all medical staff — including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses — and provides access to solutions that help them keep medical knowledge up to date. This is where IMC saw the value of Lexidrug and UpToDate, and the reason why IMC ultimately decided to adopt the solutions as their evidence-based information resources.

With new drug research and medical evidence published at a rapid rate, pharmacists and clinicians at IMC recognize that it is an ongoing challenge for them to stay current. Lexidrug and UpToDate provide instant access to the latest drug usage and information at the point of care. This helps ensure that clinicians have access to the very latest guidelines and drug information that is reviewed and validated by medical experts.

In addition to supporting pharmacists and physicians, IMC also educates residents. One of IMC’s key missions is to train and educate professional medical human resources for the country. All residents at IMC are strongly encouraged to use online resources such as Lexidrug and UpToDate to stay abreast of fast-changing medical knowledge.

IMC since made these custom databases available to their clinical teams wherever and whenever they need it through Lexidrug Mobile Apps. With the smartphone mobile version, the IMC formulary, as well as Lexidrug, have become accessible to all clinicians ‘on-the-go’.

Creating a custom formulary for busy clinicians on-the-go

Through its Referential Monograph Customization service, Wolters Kluwer works with healthcare providers to create their own easily searchable online formularies and integrate hospital-specific policies and drug lists with trusted Lexidrug referential drug information.

Custom databases combine the evidence-based clinical information in Lexidrug with institution-specific information on drug availability and regulations.

IMC is able to update its own policies, guidelines, and formulary availability data using a user-friendly program — Lexidrug Information Management System (LIMS).

Using LIMS, IMC has been able to select special fields to be displayed in its customized drug monographs, such as:

• Saudi Arabia Brand Names
• Prescribing Privileges
• Drug Specific Identifiers
• IMC Guidelines
• IMC Pregnancy Category.

Looking ahead

IMC readily embraces new technologies to improve quality of care and has implemented an electronic medical record (EMR) system for clinicians to access patient charts at the point of care. The next step in the innovation journey is to integrate clinical decision support resources into the EMR.