327. Exploring Drug Information and Clinical Databases feat. Dr. Christine Sommer

About this episode

Dr. Christine Sommer discusses the intricacies of drug information databases and their impact on pharmacy informatics.

327. Exploring Drug Information and Clinical Databases feat. Dr. Christine Sommer **Intended Audience: Everyone** Ever wondered how drug interaction alerts end up in your EHR or pharmacy system? In this week’s episode, Dr. Sommer takes us on a deep dive into the world of drug information databases—sharing her journey, the challenges her team tackles, and advice for pharmacists eyeing the informatics space. A Few Can't-Miss Insights: Shaping Clinical Data : Dr. Sommer reveals her team’s crucial work maintaining allergy, drug-drug interaction, and pharmacogenomics content at FDB. Adapting with Technology : Christine reflects on her nearly 30-year career, from the era of mainframes to today’s advanced database systems, highlighting how FDB’s content has grown far beyond classic drug interactions. Integration Woes & Wins : Learn what it’s like to ensure FDB’s drug knowledge fits seamlessly into diverse EHR and dispensing systems, and why close collaboration with vendors is key to success. The Real-life Impact : Dr. Sommer shares how FDB data helps clinicians not only avoid harmful interactions but also tailor therapy to the patient level—think pharmacogenomics and personalized…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Christine Sommer

Topics covered

• drug information
• clinical databases
• informatics
• pharmacy
• technology

Keywords

• drug interaction alerts
• EHR
• pharmacogenomics
• personalized medicine

Mentioned in this episode

Products: FDB

Books & works: Exploring Drug Information and Clinical Databases, Professional Networking Unlocked

More episodes of Pharmacy, IT, & Me: Your Informatics Pharmacist Podcast

• 326. BPS Announces Pharmacy Informatics as New Specialty Certification · December 8, 2025 · 4 min
• 325. Driving Innovations in EHRs - Pharmacy Product Management feat. Dr. Andrew McLaughlin · October 24, 2025 · 32 min
• 324. PharmDs in IT - From Pharmacy School to Full Stack Engineer feat. Dr. Khanh Theresa Mai · June 26, 2025 · 37 min
• 323. Navigating Pharmacy IT - Lessons Learned From an Informatics Team Panel Discussion feat. Drs. Aaron Tse, Phuong Wood, and Kevin Tien · May 8, 2025 · 33 min
• Repost: One Goal, Many Paths - Next Steps After Not Matching Residency · March 19, 2025 · 17 min
• 321. Hey Health Tech - Health Tech Roles and Career Transitions feat. Dr. Lauren Curtis · December 30, 2024 · 33 min