Architecture for a Federated Drug Reference in a managed care environment.

We describe a model of drug information query management that supports the integration of various types of pharmaceutical information and the delivery of that information through a common interface. Our prototype drug reference system makes use of the World Wide Web client/server architecture as a front-end to federate this data. Although originally intended as an electronic Hospital Formulary, the system has been redefined as a result of input from physicians to include formularies of multiple managed care plans. The underlying database is designed for integration with an electronic medical record as well as education and research resources for faculty and students in an academic medical center environment.