Gold Standard Inc. has integrated its award-winning Clinical Pharmacology electronic drug information and medication management reference with FormChecker, a formulary management and pharmacy information system from strategic partner and pharmacy software developer, MedKeeper, to provide hospital pharmacists with a single, comprehensive source for both drug and formulary information.

“Keeping current with the growing body of drug information, ensuring JCAHO compliance and managing the health system’s formulary, pharmacy guidelines and alerts are some of the most significant and time-consuming challenges facing today’s busy hospital pharmacist,” said Kathleen J. Vieson, Pharm.D., BCOP, Vice President and Director of Clinical Drug References, Gold Standard. “By integrating Clinical Pharmacology and FormChecker, we are providing pharmacists with convenient access to the drug and formulary information they need to ensure patient safety and contain costs.”

The integrated feature is available to concurrent subscribers of both products in two convenient ways: by going to the “Resource Center” button within Clinical Pharmacology and selecting “FormChecker” from the drop-down menu – from there, pharmacists can easily conduct formulary searches and access other documents and links; and formulary information can also be accessed from within Clinical Pharmacology monographs.

Clinical Pharmacology, now featuring a new look, simpler navigation and additional content, provides clinically-relevant drug information to prevent drug errors, reduce adverse events and improve health outcomes. It includes all U.S. prescription drugs, as well as off-label uses and dosages, herbal supplements, nutritional and over-the-counter products and investigational drugs. Clinical Pharmacology, the trusted frontline drug information resource for more than 1,000 hospitals, also features IV compatibility, drug interaction and adverse reaction reports, as well as MedCounselor patient education sheets in English and Spanish.

FormChecker is an easy-to-use formulary management and communication system that aids in JCAHO compliance, ensures current pharmacy guidelines are followed and reduces time spent on management of formulary conversions. Using a web browser, pharmacists can effortlessly update formularies, guidelines, alerts and other pharmacy-related information. Changes are instantly made available to pharmacists over the Internet, in print, and on Palm and Pocket PC PDAs. FormChecker also includes integrated drug information and health plan formulary information for more than 180 million covered lives.

“Gold Standard has always focused on identifying ways to help pharmacists improve outcomes and control costs by providing not only the most dependable, accurate and complete drug information database on the market, but also by giving them the tools they need to better-manage formulary compliance and conversions,” said Marianne Messer, Executive Vice President of Sales and Corporate Development, Gold Standard.

Other health system resources from Gold Standard include:

* ToxED: An online toxicology reference designed specifically for clinicians that provides instant access to critical information on emergency treatments, specific poisons and drug overdoses, chemical exposures and therapeutic drugs. Also included are information on biological warfare agents and the newest antidotes; updated information on industrial chemicals and recent regulatory limits; product identification tool; searching for MSDS sheets; and easy access to additional toxicological resources.

* Pharmacy Hub: A comprehensive suite of pharmacy information software and tools that are critical to hospitals, Pharmacy Hub bundles best-of-breed solutions for pharmacy practice, informed decision-making, enhanced patient care and better bottom line results into a single online source.

* Rx Flexible Forms and Reports: Transforms any new or existing form/report into an electronic format available for use on the Web and on PDAs, enabling pharmacists to take advantage of the online environment to “automate” data. Rx Forms and Reports immediately captures and compiles information that can then be used to generate a wide variety of reports, track activities, analyze resources, etc.

* Rx Interventions: Allows pharmacists to quickly and easily document cost savings, report the value of pharmacy activities, and justify staffing by efficiently tracking clinical interventions, activities, adverse drug events, and medication errors using a Web browser or a handheld device.

About Gold Standard

Based in Tampa, Fla., Gold Standard is a leading developer of drug information databases, software and clinical information solutions. The Company’s products are developed by a staff of highly trained professionals with extensive experience in pharmacy practice, electronic publishing and software development. Customers include more than 1,000 hospitals, the nation’s largest retail pharmacy chains and consultant pharmacy organizations, state and federal agencies, the country’s top pharmacy and medical schools, leading health information websites, and hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals and consumers worldwide. Gold Standard’s parent company, Elsevier (www.elsevier.com), is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services with more than 7,000 employees in over 70 offices across 24 countries. To learn more about Gold Standard, visit www.goldstandard.com or call (800) 375-0943.