First Databank

First Databank (FDB) is not a traditional EMR/EHR vendor but rather the leading provider of clinical drug knowledge bases and medication decision support solutions that power medication management within healthcare IT systems. Founded in 1977, FDB serves as the pharmaceutical intelligence backbone for over 4,500 healthcare organizations and technology vendors globally. Rather than competing with EMR systems, FDB provides the critical drug data and clinical decision support infrastructure that enables EMRs, pharmacy systems, and clinical applications to deliver safe, effective medication management.

FDB's core offering consists of comprehensive drug databases covering medications available in the United States and 30+ international markets. These databases include detailed drug monographs, dosing guidelines, interaction screening algorithms, allergy checking, duplicate therapy detection, clinical formulations, and pricing information. The company's flagship products include FDB MedKnowledge for medication information, FDB AlertSpace for clinical screening, and FDB Vela for medication decision support. FDB processes over 5 billion clinical screenings annually through its integrated systems.

What distinguishes FDB from competitors like Wolters Kluwer (Medi-Span), Elsevier (Gold Standard), and Micromedex is its deep integration ecosystem and continuous content updates. FDB maintains partnerships with virtually every major EMR vendor including Epic, Cerner, Meditech, Allscripts, and athenahealth, embedding its drug knowledge directly into clinical workflows. The company employs over 100 pharmacists, physicians, and clinical experts who review and update content continuously, ensuring currency with FDA approvals, drug recalls, and emerging safety concerns.

FDB targets the entire healthcare IT ecosystem rather than specific practice sizes. Its customers range from individual pharmacies to large health systems, PBMs, HIEs, and software vendors. The company operates on an enterprise licensing model where pricing is determined by integration scope, user volume, and modules selected. Implementation typically involves API integration or database licensing rather than traditional software deployment.

FDB's market position is strengthened by regulatory compliance capabilities, supporting EPCS requirements, Surescripts connectivity, and meaningful use criteria. The company has expanded beyond foundational drug data into areas like precision medicine, genomic-guided prescribing through FDB Illuminate, and social determinants of health integration. With healthcare IT vendors increasingly requiring validated, continuously updated drug content to meet safety and regulatory standards, FDB occupies a critical but often invisible infrastructure role in the healthcare technology stack.