Scientific Advancement

The Medication Use Evaluation Initiative

Doctors are deluged with medical information. Nearly 10,000 clinical trials are published annually. But even the best medical practitioners are hard-pressed to keep up with the latest data.

The Veterans Health Administration has come up with a software program that gives doctors easy access to the information they need when prescribing drugs. The Medication Use Evaluation system is plugged in to VHA's existing information systems that doctors use to order drugs for patients.

"The software . . . asks a series of questions that will rationalize your theory for prescribing [drugs]," says Dr. Sylvain DeLisle, associate chief of staff for the Veterans Affairs Maryland Healthcare System in Baltimore, where the system was developed and is being tested.

Under the Medication Use Evaluation system, doctors answer three or four questions before placing an electronic prescription order. They are asked whether the order is new or continuing and why the drug is being prescribed. The system then checks the answers against a database to ensure the proper medication is being ordered.

If a doctor's prescription is deemed ineffective or an incorrect choice, the system will direct the doctor to studies and other information that show why another drug might be better. The system is being used at three veterans hospitals in Maryland and could expand to other facilities in the Midwest.

WHAT IT IS

A system that provides medical information to doctors as they are writing prescriptions.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

It lets doctors access volumes of medical data to help verify that they are prescribing the appropriate drugs.

LESSON LEARNED

Technology can help medical personnel stay up to speed on the latest research data.