SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Databank, Inc. (FDB), the leading provider of drug and medical device knowledge that helps healthcare professionals make precise decisions, announced today that, for the first time, consumers now have access to a wide variety of drug information from FDB through simple queries via Alexa, Amazon’s cloud-based voice service. A subset of FDB’s drug information, trusted for more than 40 years by healthcare professionals, can now be accessed by consumers from any Alexa-enabled device.
This initiative will leverage concise, clinical drug information authored specifically for Alexa by FDB clinicians, based on their review of the most relevant content from the company’s proprietary consumer drug information monographs. Additionally, the project provides custom content that allows consumers to ask about a drug’s effects such as drug interactions, side effects, precautions, and the drug’s class. The custom data file will provide information for Alexa customers in both English and Spanish and will be updated on a regular basis.
Some common medication-related queries that Alexa will now answer for consumers by tapping into FDB drug knowledge include:
- “Alexa, what is Tylenol?”
- “Alexa, what type of drug is ibuprofen?”
- “Alexa, what are the side effects of sertraline?”
- “Alexa, what is aspirin used for?
- “Alexa, does Zoloft interact with Aleve?”
- “Alexa, is Advil safe for pregnant women?
- “Alexa, what’s the difference between Tylenol and Advil?
“We are thrilled to be working closely with Amazon on this unique consumer use of our drug knowledge,” said Bob Katter, president, FDB. “We are proud to bring this essential component of our drug databases directly to consumers through Amazon’s now-ubiquitous and helpful voice-activated technology.”
Katter added: “People lead busy lives and voice provides a simple way to get helpful information about medications including side effects and drug interactions – for themselves and the people they care for – and this information will complement advice from their medical and pharmacy teams. Ultimately, we believe that more informed consumers will lead to improved medication adherence, the reduction of adverse drug events, and better patient outcomes.”
Well into its fourth decade, FDB has been providing drug databases that are used in a variety of applications across the healthcare industry including several other consumer-facing applications. Visit FDB at the upcoming HIMSS20 conference, March 9-13, 2020, in booth 2559.
About First Databank (FDB)
FDB is the leading provider of drug and medical device knowledge that helps healthcare professionals make precise decisions. With thousands of customers worldwide, FDB enables our information system developer partners to deliver valuable, useful, and differentiated solutions. We offer more than four decades of experience in transforming medical knowledge into actionable, targeted, and effective solutions that help improve patient safety, operational efficiency, and healthcare outcomes. For a complete look at our solutions and services, please visit www.fdbhealth.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About Hearst Health
The mission of Hearst Health is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person’s health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from Hearst Health reaches 85 percent of discharged patients, 205 million insured individuals, 99 million home health visits and 3.2 billion dispensed prescriptions. The Hearst Health network includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health, MCG, Homecare Homebase, MHK (formerly MedHOK—Medical House of Knowledge) and Hearst Health Ventures (www.hearsthealth.com). Hearst also holds a minority interest in the precision medicine and oncology analytics company M2Gen. Follow Hearst Health on Twitter @HearstHealth or LinkedIn @Hearst-Health.
©2020 First Databank, Inc. Part of the Hearst Health network.
