Press Release
New Drug Information Knowledge Source for Healthcare Applications
04/13/2004
Northbrook, IL, April 13, 2004 - Intelligent Medical Objects, Inc. and Lexi-Comp announced the availability of IMO® Medications Enhanced for Lexi-Comp's drug information. This collaboration will provide a new and powerful knowledge source for drug information systems as well as electronic prescription writing. Lexi-Comp is internationally recognized for its extensive library of information on both medications and neutraceuticals. This content is now combined with IMO's enhanced vocabulary suite and programming tools supporting drug interactions, indications and contraindications for integration by CPOE vendors into their applications.
This new data source includes primary mapping to the NDC (National Drug Code). Distribution of Lexi-Comp's drug information, in conjunction with IMO-enhanced vocabulary and the NDC, provides a ready source of datasets for new or existing applications. The IMO Medications Enhanced data source and software development kit can be used to integrate electronic prescription writing, automated drug-to-drug, drug-to-disease and drug-to-herb/neutraceutical interaction checking into electronic medical records and many other computerized tools used within healthcare institutions and pharmaceutical practices.
Lexi-Comp's indication and contraindication information are enhanced with IMO's unique diagnostics vocabulary (PHT--Personal Health Terminology™) featuring more than 150,000 diagnostic terms that are related to standard ICD codes used throughout the medical industry for billing purposes. This enhancement allows an unprecedented capability for clinicians to relate diagnoses to drugs using their own nomenclature coupled with the most standard coding sets in medicine, rather than being forced to work within a narrowly defined set of terms and codes.
IMO's PHT is also mapped to SNOMED® CT, providing further enhancement opportunities for systems developers, as well as allowing for concept grouping available within SNOMED CT.
Frank Naeymi-Rad, Chairman and CEO of Intelligent Medical Objects, commented on these new developments. "IMO has invested thousands of hours in the development of its enhanced disease vocabularies over the past eight years in anticipation of a time when automated clinical systems would be ready for this level of sophistication. Other popular drug information systems use NDC codes for linking datasets, and ICD-9 codes to identify indications. IMO's enhanced vocabulary provides for more specific diagnostic terminology when searching for indications within FDA approved medications as well as drug/neutraceutical-to-disease checking. The intersection of drugs and diseases has always been one of our primary areas of focus."
Robert Kerscher, President and CEO of Lexi-Comp stated, "We are extremely thrilled to be working with one of our key partners on this important initiative. For the last several years we've had dialogue with clients and business associates who have suggested we find ways to integrate our content into their applications. Understanding the resources necessary to create the linking via NDC number and the competencies IMO brought to the table, we've found a way to solve the problem. We will now be able to provide significant value to EMRs, electronic script writers, and other systems and applications that require both the robust and trusted content we create, but the linking to address the outcomes necessary for the industry and our clients."
Dr. Andrew Kanter, President of IMO, talked about the implication of this announcement. "As far as we know, there is no better source for drug and neutraceutical interactions, indications and contraindications than the Lexi-Comp-IMO content. The combination of Lexi-Comp's in depth content with IMO's enhanced vocabularies and software development toolkit results in the most powerful and economical solution available."
IMO® Medications Enhanced for Lexi-Comp will be available in first quarter 2004.
About Lexi-Comp:
Lexi-Comp, Inc., and Ohio-based company founded in 1978, was originally established to create custom reference books for clinical laboratories. Lexi-Comp has since evolved into a major reference and custom publisher with a suite of products available on many platforms, including web-based, handheld/PDA, CD-ROM, and in print. Primary areas of focus for health information content include pharmacology, diagnostic procedures and laboratory tests, natural products, dentistry, infectious diseases, and patient education. For more information, call (800) 837-5394, (330) 650-6506, or visit the Lexi-Comp web site at www.lexi.com.