IBM (NYSE: IBM) Watson Health and OrbitalRX® today announced a strategic collaboration that aims to help address the emerging drug shortage crisis. OrbitalRX offers a digital management platform for hospital pharmacies and has locations in the Innovation Quarter and in Raleigh.
The companies are combining OrbitalRX’s Drug Shortage Management Platform and IBM® Micromedex® into one unified solution called “OrbitalRX and Micromedex,” designed to create a single source for healthcare providers and pharmacy teams to access evidence-based treatment information alongside a hospital’s current drug inventory status and drug sourcing options. This one solution aims to quickly analyze the supply chain and identify clinical alternatives for drugs that are in short supply.
The global drug shortage crisis has accelerated at an alarming rate during the COVID-19 crisis. According to the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP), close to 200 drugs are currently on the drug shortage list in the U.S. alone. Management of these shortages is further complicated by the fact that shortages vary by drug and location, as noted by the American Medical Association (AMA).
IBM Micromedex is one of the largest online reference databases for medication information. It is used by more than 4,500 hospitals and health systems worldwide. OrbitalRX is the only platform designed by hospital pharmacists, for hospital pharmacists, to unify supply chain and clinical utilization to manage drug shortages and deliver the power of real-time situational awareness in hospital pharmacy workflows.
“Patient safety can be compromised by supply chain interruptions, limited drug access due to high medication costs, and unforeseen events like COVID-19. OrbitalRX and Micromedex aim to help health system pharmacy departments mitigate these workflow challenges by identifying drug alternatives from a clinical and supplier perspective,” said OrbitalRX co-founder and CEO, Adam Orsborn, PharmD, MS.
OrbitalRX and Micromedex is anticipated to be available in Q4 2020. Please visit the product page to learn more about the solution, schedule a live demo, or to register for a webinar on September 24 to learn more.