Applying the desiderata for controlled medical vocabularies to drug information databases

Medication history has always been an integral part of the patient's medical record. With the advent of the computerized medical record and the longitudinal clinical data repository, having the medication history has enabled the development of clinical decision support system that alerts for drug to drug interactions and drug allergies. Furthermore, medication data is increasingly being analyzed from a utilization and clinical outcomes standpoint. For these activities to occur, a controlled pharmacy vocabulary akin to a controlled medical vocabulary is essential. Drug information databases are well-established sources of information for pharmacy-related data and products. However, do they measure up as a controlled vocabulary? Recent experience reviewing drug information databases and integrating pharmacy-related information into a data dictionary in real-time clinical use at multiple health care institutions have revealed several challenges and issues. These are discussed according to Cimino's desiderata for controlled medical vocabularies.