NCPA, APhA And NASPA Partner With Mirixa Corporation To Launch RxWiki.com

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry;  IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 17 Aug 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) and Mirixa Corporation announced the beta launch of http://www.RxWiki.com, the first Web 2.0 medication therapy management encyclopedia for consumers, written and edited by pharmacists. RxWiki is a free website publishing pharmaceutical, over-the-counter, and nutraceutical medication information. RxWiki also serves as a community network for pharmacists to create and share information for their patients and consumers at large, and to collaborate in the advancement of Medication Therapy Management (MTM).

"Today, 34% of all US online consumers use Wikipedia, and 7% of US online consumers with medical conditions used peer-edited health information in the past 12 months. The mission of RxWiki is to become the Web's most trusted source of medication information," said NCPA Executive Vice President and CEO Bruce Roberts. "NCPA, APhA and NASPA all believe our member pharmacists will gain tremendous professional satisfaction from contributing to this new medium knowing it will be one more way they improve consumers' use of medications."

"It is often difficult for consumers to find accurate medication information online," added Dr. John Gans, APhA's Executive Vice President & CEO. "APhA was eager to join RxWiki in filling that gap by empowering consumers to freely access prescription and over-the-counter medication information. RxWiki is different from other medication resources because it's a community-driven content portal that taps America's pharmacists as trusted content editors."

"Patients who actively participate in their healthcare, their medication therapy and who have a personalrelationship with their pharmacist can experience improved health outcomes. RxWiki will serve as the premier medication resource for patients in increasing their understanding of their medications and will enable them to take a more active role with their pharmacist, and in managing their medication therapy," asserted NASPA Executive Vice President and CEO Rebecca Snead.

RxWiki features include:

-- Medication content created by authorized pharmacists
-- Latest articles from leading medical news services via RSS content syndication
-- Weekly newsletter personalized for subscribing consumers
-- Easy to integrate website "gadget" provides access to search RxWiki from pharmacy websites
-- Free Toolbar provides search capabilities, updated information and links to other resources

"Mirixa is proud to partner with the NCPA, APhA and NASPA in the creation of RxWiki," said Don Hackett, chief executive officer of Mirixa Corporation. "The publishing model is powerful: pharmacists are able to contribute medications articles at a dramatically faster rate than historical methodologies, providing consumers with the most up-to-date information. We expect the consumer audience to build rapidly - witness the rapid growth of Wikipedia - drawn to RxWiki by its ease of use, timeliness, and the inherent trust consumers have in their local pharmacists."

"With the launch of the beta site, pharmacists can easily complete the authentication process and become RxWiki content contributors, as well as subscribe to our pharmacist eNewsletter," said Hackett. "NCPA, APhA and NASPA will be working with their members to get them engaged with this exciting new offering."

About NCPA

The National Community Pharmacists Association, founded in 1898, represents the nation's community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 24,000 pharmacies. The nation's independent pharmacies, independent pharmacy franchises, and independent chains dispense nearly half of the nation's retail prescription medicines. For more information please visit http://www.ncpanet.org.

About AphA

The American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, represents more than 60,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA, dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care, is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. More information is available at http://www.aphanet.org.

About NASPA

The National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) exists to strengthen and support our nation's state pharmacy associations, representing over 76,000 pharmacists, student pharmacists and technicians in all professional venues. NASPA is proud of its eighty year history of helping state pharmacy associations achieve their mission of providing leadership, education, legislative and regulatory advocacy that empowers their members to improve medication use and enhance patient care outcomes. More information is available at http://www.naspa.us.

About Mirixa

Mirixa Corporation is a leading developer of innovative clinical solutions that facilitate pharmacist-based patient care services and a leader in Medication Therapy Management (MTM) technology solutions. Founded by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), Mirixa has assembled the largest pharmacy services network of its kind with over 40,000 contracted community pharmacies - including both independents and chains. Mirixa's technology portfolio empowers the delivery of highly targeted medication management programs, patient education, recruitment campaigns and patient medication records. The company's leadership team shares a vision and passion for improving patient care, reducing overall health costs and expanding consumer access to accurate medication information. For more information please visit http://www.mirixa.com.