Automation and improved technology to promote database synchronization

As health care systems continue to work toward meeting meaningful-use requirements1 of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009,2 pharmacy practitioners struggle to provide meaningful and coordinated database exchanges (interoperability features) that would allow seamless information additions and subtractions among medication-related technology, devices, and related electronic health care systems that rely on accuracy for the safe provision of medicine to patients. Because pharmacy departments are responsible for maintaining medication formularies that support patient care in health systems,3 a formulary should be considered as the institution’s “source of truth” relative to medications prescribed within an institution and the institution’s associated medication management policies. As such, an institutional formulary is an authoritative list of drug products and the drugs those products contain, along with related information such as a unique identifier (i.e., a National Drug Code [NDC]), name, strength, route of administration, dosage...