First DataBank, Inc. announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Office of Information (OI), Health Systems Design & Development (HSD&D) has selected First DataBank’s National Drug Data File Plus™ (NDDF Plus™) drug database for an important prototype project.

The prototype project is part of a major reengineering of all of the VA’s computer, software, and database systems. The objective of the reengineering initiative is to modernize the VA’s infrastructure to better meet current and future needs—and to continue providing the highest quality healthcare for our nation’s veterans.

Currently, the VA maintains its own standard drug information database known as the National Drug File (NDF). Through careful evaluation, the VA determined that it has neither the in-house expertise nor the resources to maintain this drug file to effectively meet its current and projected future needs. Consequently, the VA asked for proposals from commercial vendors of drug databases and ultimately awarded the contract to First DataBank.

First DataBank's NDDF Plus provides comprehensive coverage of descriptive, pricing and clinical information on drugs. It encompasses medications approved by the FDA, plus commonly used over-the-counter drugs and information on herbals, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements. In addition, First DataBank is also providing clinical decision support tools as part of the package.

First DataBank, a subsidiary of Hearst Corporation, is the leading provider of context-relevant, integrated drug information. For over 25 years we’ve partnered with information system developers throughout the healthcare continuum to make drug content relevant from the perspectives of multiple end users, and executable at the point of need. We have successfully delivered proven drug knowledge bases for integration into a wide range of applications, with particular expertise in clinical decision support within the workflow. Together with our development partners, First DataBank helps reduce the incidence of medication errors and adverse drug events, which promises to lower healthcare costs and improve patient care.

© 2007, First DataBank, Inc. A subsidiary of Hearst Corporation. All trademarks mentioned herein are the properties of their respective owners. 

David Manin, Director of Marketing
650-872-4588
david_manin@firstdatabank.com

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