The DrugBase: 21 pharmaceutical and medical databases in one product
Implemented by Basilicom, DrugBase is a digital information source for pharmacies, doctors' practices, hospitals, companies, and pharmaceutical and medical institutions. In one product, it combines information from 21 pharmaceutical and medical databases, which can be licensed individually or in combination.
The DrugBase: 21 pharmaceutical and medical databases in one product
Implemented by Basilicom, DrugBase is a digital information source for pharmacies, doctors' practices, hospitals, companies, and pharmaceutical and medical institutions. In one product, it combines information from 21 pharmaceutical and medical databases, which can be licensed individually or in combination.
Positioned for the future with fast, contextual search
With DrugBase, Deutsche Apotheker Verlag now offers its customers yet another innovative digital product. The various search functions are a special highlight. Implemented with Elasticsearch and a modern responsive user interface, they allow the user to choose between a manual search of the databases or an intelligent global search. During input, results are already output as autosuggestions — depending on the structure of the search query, the algorithm generates individual suggestions of relevant results. This shortens search processes and intelligently guides users to the information they are looking for in the extensive database. The DrugBase significantly reduces search time. Due to the cross-device interface and modern backend architecture, new technical developments can be easily adapted in the future and additional new databases can be integrated quickly and flexibly.
Complex data structures and heterogenous usage scenarios
Pharmacies, doctors’ practices, companies, hospitals, and institutions draw on a wide range of medical and pharmaceutical information sources for their research. With DrugBase, Deutsche Apotheker Verlag (DAV) wanted to offer its clients a product that would serve as a centralized source of information for questions pertaining to medications and pharmaceuticals. The research base would be made up of 21 databases, including the Index Nominum and the Normdosen, all combined into a single product. DAV created and maintained some of these databases itself, and made others available to customers via licensing. The challenges for the integrated implementation of all these databases were complex, because the data were modeled differently, included a mix of identical and different data types, and were updated at varied intervals. In addition, there was also a range of usage scenarios and licensing options.
Search results in one click
Using Pimcore's master data management platform, we created the foundation on which to implement DrugBase. To enable users to conduct targeted searches on a central, modern, responsive user interface, we referenced the PZN numbers, substance classes, substances, and structural formulas from different database sources. We designed the search in a way that has made it possible to select either a targeted manual database search or an intelligent global search. By implementing Elasticsearch, depending on a search query’s structure, the algorithm can already offer contextual suggestions for relevant results during the search input, guiding users more quickly to the information they need. In addition, we have made it possible to filter and facet search results on a database-specific basis.
