It has recently come to our attention that some customers have created custom documents and replaced the existing medication macros which contain the medication name with macros that use the field generic_name. We want to make sure that all clients who might want to create custom documents understand what each of the First Data Bank supplied fields include.
- The Medication Name field is the column that identifies the unique combination of product or generic name, route of administration, dosage form, strength, and strength unit-of-measure. When you elect to display this column in the medication module or in a document, the prescriber will have all of the necessary details including the specific medication name, any modifiers there might be for extended release or specific packaging details such as Zithromax Z-pak. The medication_name is what is sent to Surescripts when e-prescribing and the field we use on the master documents.
- The generic_name field includes only the generic component of the drug and not the other important details such as whether it is extended release or not. It is useful for drug interaction checking at the component level and to assist prescribers in looking up a generic alternative.
- The brand_name includes information provided by the manufacturer and may or may not have sufficient detail necessary for accurate prescribing.
- If you have customized your document’s medication fields, please check to make sure that the medication_name is always included. While it is possible to see the complete information by adding additional columns after the generic or brand name (adding the dose and either the dose_form_desc or dose_form_inter columns as part of the macro), it is easiest to use just the medication_name.
- All of the master encounter documents shipped with NextGen® Knowledge Base Module (NextGen KBM) contain standard medication macros with the medication name field selected.
- This screen shot shows each of the names available for selection in a medication macro
- This screen shot shows a document with the three different fields used. Note that there is a significant difference in the morphine and Zithromax examples. The generic of the extended release morphine does not include the notation that it should be extended release and the Zithromax does not show the packaging desired in either the brand name field or the generic field.
