Drug databases have historically grouped drugs in ways which lack sufficient detail to group similar products or facilitate clinical decision support. Users have been forced to sift through volumes of extraneous data to find the information they need – if they can find it at all. Alchemy’s proprietary clinical hierarchy and classification system now offer limitless conceptual possibilities for product aggregation and more. Users are able to classify and organize drug products with an unprecedented level of precision – beyond pharmacologic classification or NDC number – up to the organ system level, down to the ingredient level, or any criteria in between. This user-friendly hierarchy system makes Alchemy an ideal tool for anyone who needs to evaluate drug data at any level.

Use the Hierarchy and Classification System for:

• Product selection
• Product dispensing
• Patient profiles
• Clinical alerts
• Billing/claims adjudication
• Identification of pharmaceutical alternatives
• Claims analysis
• Formulary development and management
• Drug utilization review
• Disease state management reporting
• Competitive analysis
  

Hierarchy File

Alchemy’s Hierarchy is a proprietary clinical database that builds “theoretical” products based on multiple data. These unique theoretical products link to actual products in the marketplace for quick and efficient data aggregation.

• The Hierarchy is built upon a Controlled Drug Vocabulary that starts at the ingredient level and gets progressively broader, up to and including actual marketed products.
• Package identifiers (e.g., NDCs) are the least granular level of product identification in Alchemy.
• Products are organized within Alchemy’s hierarchy as a compilation of drug and non-drug items.
• Drug items are unique dosage forms with one or more active drug ingredients
• Non-drug items include devices such as syringes, test strips, applicators, etc.
• Using item designations, users can group products together into
  categories of (see graphic below):
• Ingredient
• Ingredient + Strength
• Ingredient + Dosage Form
• Ingredient + Dosage Form + Strength
• Ingredient + Dosage Form + Therapeutic Intent
• Ingredient + Dosage Form + Strength + Therapeutic Intent
• Alchemy’s Therapeutic Intent designations allow users to easily distinguish between identical pharmaceutical products that are used differently in the market (e.g., fluoxetine HCL for depression, versus fluoxetine HCL for premenstrual syndrome).

Alchemy enables you to group drug products in a multitude of ways to work
with the data as best fits your needs.

Market Classification System

Alchemy’s hierarchical data structure is rooted in a market classification system which organizes products at a conceptual level. This system is designed to allow users to aggregate data into general or specific categories that more closely align with how products are used in the market today.

• Each drug is assigned a category based on organ system and therapeutic intent.
• A drug can be included in more than one category (i.e., for multiple indications).
• Competitive products are grouped together in “market baskets”.
• Drug products may be further organized into groupings, such as combination therapy.
• Formed with “parent-child” relationships for clear navigation, Alchemy’s Market Classification System will accommodate multiple levels of specificity to fit each user’s needs (see graphic below).

Intuitive “parent-child” relationships enable you to navigate through
Alchemy’s Market Classification System quickly and easily.

Our Strengths, Your Solutions

When evaluating drug data classification systems, consider the following advantages offered by Alchemy:

Total Granularity Fits Every Audience, Every Need

• Capture and compile all the drug data you need by ingredient, NDC or any level of specificity in between. Simply choose the most granular group that fits your search criteria and extract all products that exactly match that group.
• With multiple entry points into Alchemy, you can aggregate data from nearly any attribute.
• Alchemy’s Controlled Drug Vocabulary negates the need for finite “smart keys” and their potential challenges. New products can be added to the file immediately – no need to wait for smart key assignments.

Manufacturers are better equipped to price alike products competitively. Payers can more accurately evaluate and compare drugs used to treat specific disease states, leading to more functional formularies.

Incorporates Therapeutic Intent

• Alchemy’s Hierarchy incorporates a product’s therapeutic intent – an important distinction since there are instances where drugs are identical in their ingredients, strength and dosage form, yet differ in their therapeutic intent. Differentiation of these products at a theoretical level is crucial to accurate data analysis.
• Your advantage is more efficient reimbursement decisions. For example, Alchemy allows you to distinguish between bupropion hcl 150 mg ER tablets for depression/mood disorders versus bupropion hcl 150 mg ER tablets for smoking cessation.

Technical Information

• Alchemy’s Hierarchy File and Market Classification System can be used with Alchemy’s API for list queries, detail queries, and clinical requests/responses.
• For Alchemy Product File users, the raw hierarchy data is also available as a series of pipe delimited files that you can import into your existing RDBMS, providing access to virtually every table and data field in the Alchemy master database.
• Updates are automatically applied to each data file via a familiar “Windows-like” web service, so you save costly and time-consuming programming work.
• Please contact us for complete technical specifications.

To discover how Alchemy will help your organization streamline and improve access to vital drug information and simplify workflow for healthcare professionals and IT staff, please contact us at 1-800-375-0943 or 813-258-4747, or email sales@goldstandard.com.