WHAT'S NEW



NEW MOBILE APPS!

DRUG INTERACTIONS & IV COMPATIBILITY

FREE FOR MICROMEDEX SUBSCRIBERS

If you are a current Micromedex customer, you can download these apps for free. Simply follow the instructions below or contact our Customer Resource Center at +1 877 843 6796, say "Micromedex," select Option "3".

  1. Log in to Micromedex 2.0 through your subscribing facility
  2. Click on the "Mobile" link near the top of the page
  3. Refer to the detailed downloading instructions, which includes your password for activating the application at no charge
If your facility does not subscribe to Micromedex, you can download the app for $9.99 by visiting the Apple iTunes store.

Our new iPhone apps are being used by more and more clinicians to decrease the chance of adverse patient outcomes at the point of care and for instant access to Micromedex® drug information.

Now available for iPhone, iPad®, and iPod® Touch devices, and coming soon to the Android Market.

NEW TRAINING VIDEOS AVAILABLE!

Be sure to visit the TRAINING BY PRODUCT or TRAINING BY TYPE pages to review the extensive training offerings available. New video demonstrations for Micromedex® 2.0 and CareNotes offer quick and helpful training you can view at your convenience. These short videos provide great tips on how to search and navigate, and include time-saving tips. Each of the two Micromedex videos cover the steps to build interactions lists, review IV compatibility, identify and compare drugs, look up toxicology information, use dosing calculators, check black-box warnings, review drug consults, and more.
MDX 2.0 for Pharmacists
MDX 2.0 for Nurses
CareNotes
 

REMS IN MICROMEDEX CONTENT

As part of the ongoing surveillance and critical evaluation of the world's biomedical literature and regulatory actions, the editorial staff of Micromedex performs thorough reviews of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS). These documents are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007.

We incorporate REMS information within Micromedex content in the most appropriate locations.

Within DRUGDEX®, REMS information can be found:
  • Detailed Document > Dosing Information > Drug Properties > Marketing and Distribution Information
  • Detailed Document > Cautions > Black Box Warning
  • Detailed Document > Cautions > Precautions
  • Detailed Document > Clinical Applications > Patient Instructions
Within DrugPoints®, REMS information can be found:
  • Summary Document > Dosing and Indications
  • Summary Document > Black Box Warning
  • Summary Document > Contraindications/Warnings > Precautions
REMS information can also be found in Drug Consult, DrugNotes, and Detailed Drug Information for the Consumer.

For a list of approved Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies, please visit the FDA site
 

UPDATED WRITING GUIDELINES FOR CARENOTES

We are pleased to announce that we've begun updating CareNotes® with latest standards in health literacy to include revisions in reading level, tone, length, and the use of plain language. The first set of handouts written to the new standard is now available in the AfterCare documents. You'll see the documents are shorter, more direct, and are 5th – 7th grade reading level or lower. To see a list of the titles updated in the current release, click on the "Updates" link at the bottom of the CareNotes application.

In addition to promoting health literacy, we updated CareNotes with the philosophy that patient education is most effective when it ADDS value for the patient:
  • Actionable: Provides details for the behavior or actions to change
  • Direct: States information directly and concisely
  • Directive: Tells the reader what to do and what NOT to do
  • Streamlined: Excludes extraneous text
Our editorial staff will continue to update all 7,000+ documents with this new writing style. Every quarter, you'll see more titles moving to this new style, starting with the commonly used topics in the most frequently used document types. In the coming months we plan to start publishing what's planned for future quarters so you'll know ahead of time what we're working on and when you can expect to see it.

In addition, we have partnered with an integration vendor which enables access to Integrated CareNotes from within any EMR. This means hospitals can access CareNotes across their organization, regardless of which and how many EMRs they use.

For more information on CareNotes and all of our Patient Education solutions, please visit our website.
 

SELECTED NEW DRUG APPROVALS AND CONTENT UPDATES

Numerous FDA Approvals Including Aliskiren/Amlodipine/Hydrochlorothiazide The FDA typically is very active prior to the December holidays and their end-of-the-year shutdown. We saw this again this year, with a variety of drug approvals and label changes being approved by the FDA the week of December 20. One new drug approval was a combination product containing aliskiren/amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide (Amturnide®) for the treatment of high blood pressure. The Knowledge Development staff was able to process all of the new approvals and changes so that our customers received this information the week of December 27.
 

PATIENT SAFETY ISSUES

Benzonatate Warning Benzonatate (Tessalon®) is a liquid-filled gelatin capsule approved for the relief of coughing in patients 10 years and older and has been available since 1958. Benzonatate has been implicated in accidental ingestions in children younger than 10 years, possibly because of its attractive appearance. A quantity of only one or two capsules is enough to elicit symptoms of overdose in children under two years of age, and deaths have been reported within hours of ingestion of the drug. The FDA issued a safety warning to the public on December 14 regarding the dangers of this drug in children less than 10 years, and has also included these warnings in their package labeling. Dolasetron Treatment of Nausea and Vomiting in Cancer Patients On December 17, the FDA informed patients and healthcare providers that the injection form of dolasetron was no longer recommended for treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy. New data demonstrated that the injected drug can increase the risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm known as torsades de pointes, which can be fatal. The injectable form of the drug is still recommended for the prevention of postsurgical nausea and vomiting since the doses used in this setting are less likely to result in abnormal heart rhythms. This new warning became available in content the week of December 20.
 

MEDIA COVERAGE

Treatment of Breast Cancer Using Bevacizumab The FDA announced that they were beginning the process of removing the breast cancer indication for the drug bevacizumab (Avastin®) on December 16. Bevacizumab was originally approved in February 2008 under the FDA’s accelerated approval program. Under this program, a drug can be approved for use based on data that suggests the drug has a clinical benefit with more information needed to confirm. After reviewing the results of four post-approval clinical studies, the FDA has determined that the drug does not prolong overall survival in breast cancer patients or provide sufficient benefit in slowing the progression of the disease. The drug itself will not be removed from the market since bevacizumab has indications for other cancers such as colon, kidney, brain, and lung. Genentech, the manufacturer of Avastin, has not agreed to voluntarily remove the breast cancer indication and has requested a public hearing to contest the FDA’s recommendation. Our content regarding the use of bevacizumab in breast cancer will not be changed until the FDA process of removing the breast cancer indication is complete.

OTHER INFORMATION

Clinical Xpert™ - Infection Xpert Improves Prevention Workflow and Helps Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections

Neonatal and Patient Safety – a New White Paper From Thomson Reuters