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Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services Leverages Lexicomp Online to Enhance Quality Initiatives Across Norway’s Healthcare System

One of the primary missions of the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services (NOKC) is to support the development of quality in Norway’s health services sector. Although aligned with the Norwegian Directorate of Health, the center is scientifically and professionally independent and achieves its mission by compiling research, promoting the use of the latest industry evidence, contributing to quality improvement, measuring the quality of health services and working to improve patient safety.

A subscriber to Lexicomp® Online™ since 2008, NOKC’s efforts include the management of a national online reference library for healthcare personnel. A widely-used tool within this comprehensive online reference service, Lexicomp Online is helping Norway’s public healthcare system achieve its aim to overcome barriers to clinicians having access to the best drug reference tools, clinical decision support and industry evidence.

ENHANCING DECISION SUPPORT FOR CLINICIANS ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

By compiling an extensive library of reference and clinical decision support tools into an online portal for clinician access, NOKC is striving to provide access to the most up to date medicine information and latest research to all clinicians in the country. According to Kjell Tjensvoll, Consortium Manager for NOKC, some larger hospitals and universities have historically had access to online resource tools, but the vast majority of healthcare organizations have faced limitations in this area, relying on whatever print materials were available.

“Some hospitals had only a few journals available,” Tjensvoll said. “Others might have a reference subscription that could be accessed online, but clinicians might only be able to access the tool through one computer.”

Now, with Lexicomp Online, physicians, pharmacists and nurses can access comprehensive, up to date medicine information and clinical content from any location with Internet access, whether that be on-site, at home or in a hotel room. Users simply log in to the site and then locate information related to medication safety, lab and diagnostic procedures, diseases and conditions and patient education.

“Lexicomp is committed

to working with us to find

an effective way to make

the information available

through the patient record

system and integrate

systems throughout

the country.”

Kjell Tjensvoll Consortium Manager, NOKC

Tjensvoll said that adoption and use of the tools in the national library has increased over time as clinicians become more accustomed to using technology and learn how to leverage the information to impact patient care. While the Lexicomp content is most widely used by pharmacists, many physicians and nurses also appreciate having access to reliable drug information at their fingertips.

“We have a few users also using Lexicomp on smartphones and tablets, and it has been advantageous for them to have all this information available when they need it without having to remember passwords,” Tjensvoll noted, pointing to the availability of Lexicomp Mobile Apps. “The mobile apps allow clinicians to access the information when they are offline or where Internet access is restricted.”

Physicians specifically have indicated that they appreciate the quality of medicine interaction content available in Lexicomp Online and that the advanced functionality of the application allows them to compare more than two substances at a time.

PATIENTS BENEFIT FROM CLINICIAN ACCESS TO SPECIALTY DATABASES

Lexicomp Online currently offers more than 25 specialized databases and modules. Enabling clinicians to locate information on a wide range of topics — including pediatric, adult, and geriatric dosing and guidelines; I.V. compatibility; patient education; international medicines; infectious diseases, and pregnancy and lactation information, to name a few — has had a notable impact on patient care across Norway.

Åse Skjerdal, Editor of Drug Information in the Norwegian Electronic Health Library, NOKC, said that clinicians appreciate the availability of the specialized information and also have found navigating the databases within Lexicomp Online to be simple and efficient.

“The ability to individualize the information is helpful when clinicians seek information on interactions, adverse effects and special concentrations related to different populations such as children and the elderly,” she said.

For example, the Pediatric & Neonatal Lexi-Drugs™ database helps clinicians make safer pediatric dosing decisions by providing dosing guidelines from more than 750 pediatric-sensitive medicine monographs related to neonates, infants and children. Likewise, the Geriatric Lexi-Drugs™ database contains more than 840 geriatric-sensitive medicine monographs, supplying up to 31 key fields of information.

Skjerdal also called out the benefits of the Lexi-Pharmacogenomics™ database for its ability to provide detailed information concerning key genetic variations that may influence medicine disposition and sensitivity. This critical information can be especially important for understanding the influence of medicine dosage in complicated procedures such as transplants.

The availability of comprehensive dental medicine information through the Dental Lexi-Drugs™ database is a relatively new concept for dentists in Norway, and Skjerdal said that she believes as more dental professionals become educated to the benefits of leveraging reference tools, the uptake will increase.

“We see a lot of opportunity with a comprehensive dental medicine reference tool,” she said. “Like medical professionals, dentists can enhance patient care by building practice patterns off of the latest industry evidence. They are just not used to this kind of interaction yet.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Going forward, NOKC plans to build off the success of its national online reference library to better integrate tools like Lexicomp Online into the patient record system. Tjensvoll noted that one present challenge is the ability to use Internet resources in the same working session as the patient record system.

“There are very strong security regulations when it comes to protecting the patient record,” he pointed out. “Lexicomp is committed to working with us to find an effective way to make the information available through the patient record system and integrate systems throughout the country.”

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About The Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Servies Established in 2004, The Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services (NOKC) supports the development of quality in the health services by summarizing research, promoting the use of research results, contributing to quality improvement, measuring the quality of health services, and working to improve patient safety. The knowledge center is organized under the Norwegian Directorate of Health but is scientifically and professionally independent. The NOKC carries out work for regional health authorities, The Norwegian Directorate of Health, the Norwegian Medicines Agency, and the Ministry of Health and Care Services. Additional areas of focus include the clinical environments and professional and user interest groups. For additional information, please visit www.kunnskapssenteret.no/Home.