Network of trust

How the emc supports the accessibility of medicines information

Distributing reliable information about medicines is challenging for the pharma industry and the healthcare professionals (HCPs) who depend on it to provide patient care.

While digitalisation has improved accessibility to this information, it has also led to unregulated information online.

PharmaTimes caught up with Rich Cooper, CEO at Datapharm to explore the role of the electronic medicines compendium (emc) in ensuring access to trustworthy medicines information and supporting pharma to enhance the searchability of its product information.

How does the emc strengthen HCPs’ trust in information on medicines?
A challenge in providing information on medicines is ensuring that online information is accurate, up to date and comes from reliable sources.

With new products coming into the market daily, and existing products subject to ongoing updates, finding comprehensive information on a medicine in one place can be challenging.

The emc addresses this problem by providing a one-stop-shop for accurate, up-to-date information about medicines licensed in the UK.

It includes a database of over 9,000 medicines published by more than 320 pharmaceutical companies. All information on the emc has been approved by the relevant UK or European government agencies.

This means that HCPs trust the information when prescribing medications to patients.

What benefits does inclusion in the emc offer to pharma companies?
Ensuring medicines information is up to date and readily accessible is a regulatory requirement. An online resource offers seamless delivery of information on medicines to HCPs, reducing the time and effort required to access this content when needed, such as when doctors are prescribing, or pharmacists are ordering products.

The presence of a medicine product on the emc is crucial to support HCPs in understanding the safety profile of a particular product, including how it must be stored, the best treatment options for patients, and ensuring all medicines are administered safely and effectively.

How can pharma supply the right content to healthcare professionals?
Analysis of the search terms online by HCPs found that 60% of searches relate to storage and stability, undesirable effects, administration methods, dosing, and special populations’ needs.

Pharma information teams must ensure their medical information and Scientific Response Documents (SRDs) can answer these questions.

The rate of successful searches can be increased by providing smaller, specific answers and incorporating all medical abbreviations to identify a condition.
Alternate phrases for the same medical problem, e.g., cardiac arrest and heart attack, grammatical variations of words, and regional differences can all help enhance searchability.

Proactively monitoring search logs and refining content accordingly should be an ongoing strategy. A structured content management approach can significantly improve search success rates.

How is Datapharm enhancing the availability of medicines information internationally?
Establishing key partnerships internationally is instrumental in Datapharm’s mission to improve the accessibility of medicines information globally.

In collaboration with Medical Information Leaders in Europe and Rote Liste, Datapharm is part of a new initiative to improve the accessibility of medicines information across Europe.

Datapharm has also recently established a partnership with phactMI with the aim of significantly improving the quality and accessibility of vital medicines information for HCPs and patients across the US.

These collaborations will enable more HCPs to access information about medicines they can trust and help pharmaceutical companies improve their engagement with HCPs and patients globally.