Safety First Blog

20 Years Strong: BlackboxRX’s User Experience Evolution

Written by Laura Paxton | Apr 25, 2024 1:36:35 PM

A few weeks ago, we wrote about our quest to improve the user experience across our software. Now we’re back to let you know that our new and improved BlackboxRX is live! 

BlackboxRX at 20: Revolutionizing Access to Drug Warnings
Back in 2004, a large university hospital system came to us with a desire to make black box warnings available to everyone since there was no digital solution at the time. These warnings, named for their distinctive, black-bordered box presentation on drug packaging, are crucial for alerting healthcare providers and patients to the severe health risks associated with certain medications. Twenty years later, BlackboxRX is still the only comprehensive list of boxed warnings online. 

As we celebrate 20 years of BlackboxRX serving the healthcare community, we at Rpharmy recognize that even the most trusted resources need refreshing to stay ahead. So, we've done just that and much more. Our latest update goes beyond a simple facelift; it's a comprehensive enhancement of both form and function.

NEW! A Complete Interface Revamp 
With an intuitive redesign, we've elevated the look and feel of BlackboxRX to meet the modern needs of our users. The home screen is simple yet contains pertinent information to make it easy to access the latest warnings and see the top 5 most viewed warnings on BlackboxRX. 

From the home screen, you can quickly sort drugs by therapeutic class by clicking on the link. Chock full of information, the Rpharmy Safety First Blog is also just a click away. 



NEW! A Streamlined Search Experience
As you enter a drug into the search bar, all instances of the drug are available to select. Once a drug is selected, you are presented with usage information as well as monitoring data. 

Instead of one long monograph like the previous version, the additional drug information is available via links in the right-hand sidebar. This clean presentation makes it easy to scan and access the precise information you need without sacrificing the details you need. 
 


 
Seamless Integration with Rhazdrugs and Formweb
At Rpharmy, our mission is crystal clear: ensure that critical drug safety information is always at your fingertips, especially when it counts the most—at the point of care. That's why it was crucial to embed BlackboxRX into Rpharmy's Rhazdrugs and Formweb solutions. We're big believers in the "less is more" approach—fewer clicks mean faster access to the information you need to ensure patient care is both safe and effective.

But simplifying things on the surface often requires a mountain of work behind the scenes. We owe a huge shoutout to our web team, who've been nothing short of superheroes. They've poured countless hours into enhancing both the usability and functionality of BlackboxRX as part of our large UX project. Sure, these improvements might seem like basic tweaks, but believe us, refining the platform to ensure each drug and its associated safety information is up-to-date was no small feat. It involved meticulous attention to detail and a deep commitment to improving healthcare safety—a goal we all share and strive towards every day.

The journey to make safety information more accessible and user-friendly is ongoing, but efforts like these make all the difference. We're proud of the strides we've made and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to safer healthcare practices. Check out BlackboxRX for yourself, and let us know what you think.

If you want to learn more about Rpharmy’s commitment to making medication safety information more accessible and the UX overhaul of all of our solutions, check out this blog about our UX project. As always, let me know if you have any questions or feedback.