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Avoid Drug Danger
New Digital Service Detects Personal Risk for
Adverse Drug Reactions Based on Personal History
 RxWise
is available online or in portable USB drive and has information on
prescription, over-the-counter and herbal medicines
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
July 20, 2005 As a steady flow of studies show,
senior citizens are at high risk of serious harm or death from adverse
drug reactions that result from numerous causes medication errors,
drug name confusion, dangerous drug combinations and more. A new product
was introduced today, RxWise, that is described as the first
personalized, adverse drug reaction (ADR) risk-assessment system
contained on a portable USB Flash Drive, or accessible through the
Internet. It is probably not the total answer but appears to be a
significant step in the right direction.
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RxWise, a product from Iatrogen, LLC, is aimed at
helping consumers to use medicines more safely. It evaluates the
potential risks for an ADR by analyzing an individual's self-reported or
insurance claims-based medical information and checking it against
medications they are taking.
Note the critical step to making this system work
is self-reporting. The user must enter important data about their
health history. For many elderly, this may mean assistance from family
members and other caregivers.
Using sophisticated risk- assessment software,
RxWise provides personalized information about medications that may
cause an adverse reaction.
"We see the greatest potential for use of this
safety system among the elderly and their caregivers, the chronically
ill, and parents of young children, said M. Lee Morse, President and
Co-founder of Iatrogen.
The company says its product covers a broad range
of prescription, herbal and over-the-counter drugs. Because different
people can react differently to the same medication, based largely on
individual medical conditions and other medications they are taking, the
RxWise analysis can be more effective than the limited drug interaction
analysis conducted by most community pharmacies, says the announcement.
With pull-down windows, consumers can record
medical information to create a history of specific drugs being taken
and known medical conditions, as well as their drug allergies. Once the
information is entered into RxWise, a summary of relevant advisories
regarding potential risks is displayed immediately. If desired,
individuals can forward the advisory via email to their physician or
pharmacist.
The company highlights these benefits:
> Empowers Senior Citizens and their
Caretakers, Parents of Young Children and the General Public to Take
Medications More Safely.
> Powerful Resource to Help Healthcare
Providers Protect their Patients
> New, Affordable System for Employers
to Keep their Workforce Healthy
"The use of prescription, non-prescription and
herbal medicines is more prevalent than ever and everyone can react
differently to the same medication," said Aida LeRoy, Pharm.D.,
Executive Vice President and Co- founder, Iatrogen. "RxWise not only
encourages a dialogue between healthcare providers and their patients,
but provides an affordable solution to the growing problem of
drug-induced illness," said LeRoy.
"We are confident that RxWise will raise awareness
among consumers, employers and health plan managers to the dangers of
ADRs," said Morse.
We have already received a warm welcome from the
Fortune 500 employer community who has a vested interest in keeping
their employees and retirees safe. And we expect that our healthcare
provider partners, many of whom we have had positive discussions with,
will recommend this system to their patients," added Morse.
The company says their product is needed because,
> ADRs are reportedly linked to the
deaths of as many as 100,000 hospitalized patients each year in the U.S.
> ADRs are the fourth to sixth leading
cause of death in the U.S. each year, ahead of pulmonary disease,
diabetes, AIDS, pneumonia, accidents and automobile deaths.
> As many as 4 million people in the
U.S. annually experience serious,non-fatal ADRs.
> There are 350,000 ADRs in nursing
homes alone.
> ADRs cost the U.S. $136 billion
annually.
The cost for the portable RxWise USB Flash Drive is
$39.95. The RxWise Web version, accessible through the Internet, is
available for $24.00. Both can be purchased at
http://www.rxwise.com/.
The company news release says RxWise was developed
by the United States' leading ADR avoidance team. More than 20 million
patients have been protected by this team's technologies. The design
team was a past winner of the Smithsonian Award for best IT in Medicine
for its ADR avoidance system. The RxWise team has built and operated ADR
avoidance/detection systems for over a dozen U.S. state health systems,
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Defense, the
Veterans Benefits Administration, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and large
employer groups including General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler,
Goodyear and the Boeing Company, and many others.
About Iatrogen
Founded in 2001, Iatrogen, LLC, says it is the
bioinformatics leader in products and services that enable consumers to
use medicines more safely. Iatrogen evolved from the combined 50 years
of experience of its founders in the clinical health and pharmaceutical
outcomes industry. Located just outside Washington, DC in Herndon,
Virginia, Iatrogen is composed of a team of highly qualified and
experienced clinical pharmacists, epidemiologists, software designers,
and IT professionals who manage the ongoing development and
administration of the company's web and USB Flash Drive-based consumer
products. For more information, visit
http://www.rxwise.com/.
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