Making the best treatment decision for each patient can be a daunting task for healthcare professionals. As of 2013, there were 1453 molecular entities approved by the FDA for use in the United States, in addition to the new medications introduced each year and the extensive range of over-the-counter drugs.
Each patient presents with unique characteristics that affect the optimal treatment choice for them as an individual. For healthcare professionals, choosing the best management plan to improve health outcomes is difficult due to the extensive range of drug classes and medication options that must be evaluated.
Additionally, healthcare professionals are often asked to deal with cases that are beyond their specialized field of care, prescribing medications with which they are less familiar. For this reason, there is a strong reliance on easily accessible information for drug evaluation during a patient consultation, enabling appropriate prescribing recommendations at all times.
The mobilePDR app*
The Physicians’ Desk Reference® (PDR) has been a trusted source of medical information for generations of healthcare professionals, helping to improve the decision-making process for prescriptions and medical advice. PDR continues to support healthcare professionals with innovative solutions to improve accessibility to critical drug information.
The mobilePDR app* is an interactive drug information service that is free for healthcare professionals based in the United States and offers an effective way to access vital drug information. The sleek and intuitive design allows quick access to thousands of drug summaries with credible prescribing information that is updated regularly.
*App only intended for US Healthcare Professionals
Fast Drug Lookup
One of the most useful features of the mobilePDR app* is the availability of current drug information at the tap of a finger. The opening screen allows the user to enter in a drug – by brand or generic name – and open up the drug summary.
Unlike other mobile apps, PDR upholds its strong reputation for trustworthy information by ensuring that drug summaries are updated regularly. Their team of PharmD clinicians constantly reviews the content and any recent FDA-approved label changes, and updates the drug summaries to reflect changes within four days.
As a result, healthcare professionals can rely on the information available in the mobilePDR app* for its credibility, using it to quickly evaluate different pharmaceutical solutions and decide which is most suited to the situation at hand.
Evaluating Medications
The mobilePDR app* also allows the user to select several different medication options and evaluate them side-by-side to make the best therapeutic decision. Simply swipe left or right to flick between alternative drugs and directly compare the information relevant to the current patient.
Capable of evaluating up to eight different drugs at once, the app makes it easier to optimize the choice of medications for a patient’s individual situation. It provides concise information about:
- Indications
- Pharmacokinetic data
- Dosing recommendations for adult and pediatric patients
- Dosing adjustments for renal or hepatic impairment
- Administration
- Adverse reactions
- Drug interactions
- Pregnancy and lactation suitability
- Contraindications and precautions
Each of these characteristics is important in the decision-making process to promote optimal patient health outcomes. According to the specific individual situation, the user can extract the most important parameters and make the best choice accordingly.
Quick Drug Reference
An additional feature allows the user to save comparisons for future reference, which is a great option for common cases that present on a frequent basis.
For example, the user can quickly save alternative treatment options for common illnesses, so that the healthcare professional can quickly open up the reference page to see which option would be best for the current patient. This reference shortcut is able to save valuable time during the workday while helping to improve patient outcomes without any sacrifice.
These comparisons are entirely customizable, and can sort the information fields according to the factors that are most likely to affect the healthcare professional’s prescribing decision.
A new addition in the early December 2015 app release features pre-determined drug comparisons. Based on user feedback and the expertise of PDR’s PharmDs, mobilePDR will include several preset lists of drugs related to commonly treated conditions, such as diabetes, and hypertension, as well as a comparison list of flu vaccines. These lists, combined with user-selected lists, will provide even more utility to busy professionals.
Reliable Information for Unfamiliar Cases
Each day, healthcare professionals are faced with new patients that have specific characteristics and particular needs for their health. To provide the best care, many healthcare professionals specialize in a condition or topic, learning about the best possible treatment options for all the conditions in their chosen specialized area. Often, presenting cases may be outside of their area of expertise and prescribing medications they are less familiar is frequently required.
In this situation, which even the most experienced healthcare professional faces from time to time, there is a need for near-instant access to reliable information. The ability to effectively compare dosing, indications, side effects and other characteristics of multiple drugs simultaneously with the mobilePDR app* is invaluable.
Healthcare professionals are faced with the difficult task of evaluating drug options and choosing the best solution for multiple patients each day. The mobilePDR app offers fast access to credible information that they can rely on to improve overall therapeutic outcomes for patients.
References
*App only intended for US Healthcare Professionals
About Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR)
Trusted by generations of healthcare providers, PDR delivers innovative health knowledge products and services that support prescribing decisions and patient adherence to improve health.
As a leading provider of behavior-based prescription management programs, PDR provides event-driven and clinically relevant healthcare messaging through its patented process that improves patient compliance and outcomes, while preserving privacy.
This network is made up of e-prescribing, electronic medical record (EMR), and electronic health record (EHR) applications, chain and independent pharmacies, and sponsors of healthcare-related education such as pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans, payers, and pharmacy benefit managers.
The Physicians' Desk Reference® suite of services provides healthcare professionals multichannel access to important drug information: the PDR®, the most recognized drug information reference available in the U.S.; interactive drug information services for EHR/EMR systems; digital communication services; PDR.net®; and mobilePDR®
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