For vets, knowing what you need to prescribe is often the easy bit. Knowing what products are available on the market is more challenging, and that’s where VetRx comes in.
VetRx has the most comprehensive veterinary medication database in Australia. To achieve this, it utilizes three sources: the first being the APVMA database, the second being the TGA database, and the third being a list of frequently compounded veterinary medications.
When VetRx went live there were over 40,000 Australian medications populated in the database This data is structured so that the medicinal substance is recognised regardless of whether it is a human or veterinary medicine. This data structure means that where a veterinary registered medicine exists, that can be identified and used first. If not, then the prescriber has the choice to prescribe a TGA or compounded medicine instead.
VetRx does more than just list medicinal substances and registered products. It also contains information relating to indications, side effects, and contra-indications. For the pharmacists, it provides animal specific information that is relevant to dispensing.
When prescribing in VetRx, vets have the option to search by either condition or by product. Using a condition first approach, the vets would start by entering the animal’s diagnosis and they would be returned a list of APVMA medicines that are registered for treating that condition. With the product first approach, they would enter the drug name and then be presented with a list of results that span the APVMA, TGA and compounded formularies. This makes it easily apparent for vets to find a human form of a medication. It also helps for vets to find recently registered APVMA medicines that they may not yet know about. The way that VetRx has structured the database means that we can integrate with major pharmacopoeia providers (such as Plumbs). This will enable VetRx to provide additional features such as drug interactions and information to support off-label prescribing.
The requirements of a prescription vary depending on the poisons schedule of the medicinal substance that has been prescribed. The VetRx database includes the poisons schedule for all possible medicinal substances that could be prescribed. As a result, the prescription template is automatically adjusted depending on the medication that is prescribed, and the vet does not need to look up the poisons schedule of what they are prescribing.
If you’re a veterinary practitioner, then sign up for VetRx today and experience a better way to prescribe.