First DataBank
First DataBank (FDB), a Hearst Health subsidiary, provides clinical drug knowledge and medication decision support databases and software to US hospitals, pharmacies, health plans, payers, and EHR vendors through its MedKnowledge database and Vela ePrescribing network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What First DataBank does
First Databank (FDB) is a US healthcare information company that has built the most widely adopted integrated drug database in the United States, used by hospitals, pharmacies, health plans, EHR vendors, and other healthcare organizations to support medication decision-making at the point of care. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in South San Francisco, FDB operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hearst Health, the healthcare division of Hearst Corporation, alongside sister companies MCG, MHK, QGenda, Zynx Health, and Homecare Homebase. The platform reports 32,000+ retail pharmacy customers, 3,500+ non-federal hospitals, presence in 16 of the top 24 US health plans, and 77% penetration of US News & World Report Honor Roll Hospitals, with a reported 98.9% customer retention rate.
The core technology stack is anchored by FDB MedKnowledge, a curated medication knowledge base containing dosing, interactions, contraindications, clinical guidelines, and pricing data accumulated over 40+ years. This database is exposed through FDB Vela, a cloud-native, API-first ePrescribing network connecting prescribers, pharmacies, and payers with real-time prescription routing and eligibility services, hosted on Microsoft Azure and certified to HITRUST r2 standards. Surrounding the core database is a portfolio of modules — AlertSpace for alert fatigue management, Meducation for patient instructions in multiple languages, Prizm for medical device knowledge, OrderKnowledge for order strings, AnalySource for drug pricing analytics, Infusion Knowledge for smart pumps, Navigo for retail pharmacy guidance, Pharmacogenomic CDS, Targeted Medication Warnings, and a separate Pet MedKnowledge veterinary database. Most recently, FDB has layered AI capabilities on top of the data asset: FDB MedProof MCP, a Model Context Protocol server that lets external AI agents access medication knowledge; FDB Script Agent, which uses ambient listening to auto-queue prescription orders; and FDB VerifyAssist, which automates inpatient pharmacy order verification.
FDB monetizes through three revenue streams: recurring subscriptions to its drug databases by hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, and payers; OEM/embedded licensing arrangements with EHR vendors (athenahealth, NextGen, Greenway Health, MEDITECH, Medhost) and pharmacy system providers who embed FDB's data in their clinical software; and transaction-based fees on the Vela ePrescribing network. Distribution is primarily direct enterprise field sales to large healthcare organizations, channel partnerships through EHR and pharmacy system vendors who act as distributors, and a self-service API-first developer surface on Vela. The company sells into the US as its core market, with regional presence in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East.
First DataBank firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- First DataBank
- Legal name
- First Databank, Inc.
- Website
- https://fdbhealth.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- First DataBank (FDB), a Hearst Health subsidiary, provides clinical drug knowledge and medication decision support databases and software to US hospitals, pharmacies, health plans, payers, and EHR vendors through its MedKnowledge database and Vela ePrescribing network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
First DataBank industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clinical Drug Knowledge / Medication Decision Support Software
- NAICS
- Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- PBM Technology Platforms (ePA/eRx/Real-Time Benefit Tools) (HLAEAKAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Medication Pricing, Copay Assistance & Patient Financial Support Tools (HLACAKAN), FHIR/HL7 Data Repositories & Canonical Data Models (HLACAIAI)
Keywords
Where First DataBank is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
First DataBank business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Drug Database Subscriptions: Healthcare organizations including hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, and payers pay recurring subscription fees to access FDB's drug databases and decision support tools. Pricing is typically based on organization size, user count, or transaction volume.
- Embedded/OEM Licensing: EHR vendors, pharmacy system providers, and other healthcare IT companies license FDB's drug databases for embedding into their clinical software products. This includes per-user, per-transaction, or flat-fee licensing arrangements with technology partners.
- ePrescribing Network Transactions: Transaction-based revenue from the FDB Vela ePrescribing network where prescription routing and related services generate per-transaction fees from pharmacies and payers.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
First DataBank product offering
Product offeringCore offering
First Databank (FDB) develops and licenses comprehensive clinical drug knowledge databases and medication decision support software used by hospitals, pharmacies, payers, PBMs, and EHR/healthcare IT vendors. Its flagship FDB MedKnowledge database is embedded in clinical workflows for dosing, interaction, allergy, and contraindication checking, while FDB Vela provides a cloud-native ePrescribing network routing prescriptions and benefit information in real time. Newer AI-native offerings (FDB MedProof MCP, Script Agent, VerifyAssist) extend the platform into AI-agent-driven prescribing and pharmacy verification.
Product overview
FDB (First Databank) offers a comprehensive medication knowledge platform serving healthcare IT systems. The core offering includes MedKnowledge as the industry's most widely used integrated drug database in the United States, paired with FDB Vela, a cloud-native ePrescribing network supporting pharmacies, prescribers, and payers. The platform includes specialized modules for drug alert management (AlertSpace), patient medication instructions (Meducation), medical device knowledge (Prizm), and medication order strings (OrderKnowledge). Recent additions include AI-powered solutions: MedProof MCP (Model Context Protocol server for AI integration), Script Agent (prescription automation), and VerifyAssist (pharmacy verification assistant). The portfolio serves diverse healthcare settings including hospitals, retail pharmacies, payers, PBMs, and veterinary practices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FDB Vela: Cloud-native ePrescribing network supporting pharmacies, prescribers, veterinarians, and payers with prescription routing and pharmacy connectivity.
- FDB MedProof MCP
- FDB Meducation
- FDB AlertSpace
- FDB Prizm
- FDB Navigo
- FDB Script Agent
- FDB VerifyAssist
- MedKnowledge
Products and services
- FDB MedKnowledge The most widely used integrated drug database in the United States, providing comprehensive medication decision support content including clinical modules, foundations, and drug pricing data for hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, payers, and EHR vendors.
- FDB Vela Cloud-native ePrescribing network connecting pharmacies, prescribers, and payers for real-time prescription routing, eligibility verification, and medication history access with HITRUST r2 certification.
- FDB Meducation Individualized, multilingual medication instructions and calendars designed to improve patient medication adherence and health literacy.
- FDB AlertSpace Drug alert management software that addresses medication alert fatigue by consolidating multiple safety alerts into single, actionable alerts based on the patient's most clinically relevant risk.
- FDB Prizm Medical device knowledge database that helps healthcare organizations improve clinical, financial, and operational outcomes related to medical device usage.
- FDB OrderKnowledge Medication order strings designed for ePrescribing and computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems to enable accurate prescribing workflows.
- FDB AnalySource Drug pricing analytics software providing analytics on top of FDB drug pricing data for payer, PBM, and provider decision support.
- FDB Infusion Knowledge IV medications and parameters database for use within smart pumps, supporting safe medication administration in hospitals.
- Pet MedKnowledge Veterinary drug database supporting commerce and dispensing, enabling ePrescribing in veterinary practices.
- FDB Navigo Next-generation clinical guidance platform for retail pharmacy settings, providing patient-specific medication guidance to reduce alert fatigue and improve dispensing decisions.
- FDB MedProof MCP AI integration layer providing a Model Context Protocol server for trusted, clinically validated medication knowledge, enabling AI agents and applications to access standardized medication intelligence.
- FDB Script Agent AI-enabled prescription automation agent for ambulatory care settings that uses ambient listening technology to auto-queue structured prescription orders directly into EHRs for clinician review.
- FDB VerifyAssist Inpatient pharmacy order verification assistant that surfaces critical drug-specific criteria against patient data at the point of verification to reduce pharmacist burden.
- FDB MedKnowledge Explorer Pre-built interface allowing easy viewing of updated MedKnowledge drug content for clinical reference.
- FDB Targeted Medication Warnings Actionable medication guidance providing more meaningful, patient-specific medication warnings at the most appropriate time based on each patient's unique clinical context.
- FDB Pharmacogenomic CDS Evidence-based drug-gene clinical decision support within the workflow for personalized medication therapy.
Quantifiable outcome
- 98.9% customer retention rate demonstrates strong customer loyalty and satisfaction
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use First DataBank
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
First DataBank technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability9 records
Feature6 records
First DataBank partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.
- PhotoncorePhoton collaborates with FDB on the Vela ePrescribing Network, integrating FDB's medication decision support capabilities with Photon's healthcare connectivity solutions to enable real-time ePrescribing and medication history access for prescribers and pharmacies.
- ArterastrategicArtera utilizes FDB MedProof MCP (Model Context Protocol) to integrate FDB's medication knowledge into its AI-powered patient communication platform, enabling AI agents to access accurate medication information for patient engagement and clinical communication workflows.
- Microsoft AzurecoreMicrosoft Azure provides the cloud infrastructure hosting for FDB Vela ePrescribing network, enabling scalable, secure, and reliable cloud-native medication decision support services for healthcare organizations.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
First DataBank competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- DrFirst: DrFirst is a healthcare technology vendor focused on ePrescribing, medication history, and clinical messaging for ambulatory and acute care, competing directly with FDB Vela in the ePrescribing network and medication decision support layer across outpatient and inpatient settings.
- Arrive Health (formerly RxRevu): Arrive Health provides real-time prescription benefit, price transparency, and medication decision support within EHR workflows, overlapping with FDB's payer and pharmacy offerings (AnalySource, Vela) particularly in the consumer-facing drug-cost transparency space.
- Komodo Health: Komodo Health aggregates healthcare data and offers AI-driven clinical and commercial intelligence used by life sciences and payers, comparable to FDB in the sense of monetizing curated healthcare data assets - though focused on claims and patient journey analytics rather than medication reference data.
Others
- MCG (Hearst Health): MCG is a sibling Hearst Health portfolio company providing evidence-based clinical decision support for care planning, utilization management, and hospital workflows. While not a drug-data competitor, MCG is co-distributed into the same hospital enterprise accounts, enabling cross-sell and shared infrastructure synergies.
Direct peers
- Elsevier Clinical Solutions (ClinicalPath / ClinicalKey): Elsevier competes with FDB in clinical decision support and drug reference content, with ClinicalPath focused on oncology pathways and ClinicalKey providing drug monographs and clinical evidence within hospital and pharmacy workflows.
- Surescripts: Surescripts is the dominant US ePrescribing network - a direct competitor to FDB Vela for routing prescriptions, delivering real-time pharmacy benefit information, and connecting prescribers, pharmacies, and payers on a transaction-based revenue model.
- Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information (Lexicomp / Medi-Span): The most direct competitor to FDB MedKnowledge. Wolters Kluwer's Lexicomp and Medi-Span are the other leading curated drug databases embedded into hospital EHRs, pharmacy systems, and ambulatory platforms, competing for the same embedded licensing and subscription contracts that anchor FDB's revenue.
- IBM Micromedex: IBM Micromedex is one of the longest-standing drug reference and clinical decision support products, used in hospitals and pharmacy systems for drug interaction checking, IV compatibility, and evidence-based medication guidance - competing head-to-head with FDB MedKnowledge and AlertSpace.
Broad incumbents
- Oracle Health (formerly Cerner): Oracle Health provides the second-largest US hospital EHR platform with embedded clinical decision support and medication reference capabilities. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose CDS strategy either embeds third-party drug content (e.g., FDB/Multum) or substitutes with native modules.
- Epic Systems (Best Practice Advisories / Order Sets): Epic, the largest US hospital EHR vendor, has built-in medication decision support, formulary, and order set functionality that can either compete with or distribute FDB content depending on customer configuration. Represents both the largest channel partner and the most significant competitive threat.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
First DataBank social profiles
Digital presenceFirst DataBank compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
First DataBank financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
First DataBank leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
First DataBank funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
First DataBank M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about First DataBank
What does First DataBank do?
First Databank (FDB) develops and licenses comprehensive clinical drug knowledge databases and medication decision support software used by hospitals, pharmacies, payers, PBMs, and EHR/healthcare IT vendors. Its flagship FDB MedKnowledge database is embedded in clinical workflows for dosing, interaction, allergy, and contraindication checking, while FDB Vela provides a cloud-native ePrescribing network routing prescriptions and benefit information in real time. Newer AI-native offerings (FDB MedProof MCP, Script Agent, VerifyAssist) extend the platform into AI-agent-driven prescribing and pharmacy verification.
Is First DataBank a public or private company?
First DataBank is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was First DataBank founded?
First DataBank was founded in 1978. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is First DataBank based?
First DataBank is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does First DataBank make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Drug Database Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are embedded/OEM Licensing and ePrescribing Network Transactions.
Who are First DataBank's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are DrFirst, Arrive Health (formerly RxRevu) and Komodo Health. MCG (Hearst Health) is listed as an others. Direct peers are Elsevier Clinical Solutions (ClinicalPath / ClinicalKey), Surescripts, Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information (Lexicomp / Medi-Span) and IBM Micromedex. Broad incumbents are Oracle Health (formerly Cerner) and Epic Systems (Best Practice Advisories / Order Sets).
Does First DataBank have an API?
Yes. FDB offers an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides secure, standardized access to medication knowledge for AI agents and applications. The MCP server includes tools that enable AI systems and agents to connect with FDB's medication knowledge within healthcare software workflows. Additionally, FDB Vela ePrescribing Network provides APIs enabling easy connection and access to network services including real-time pharmacy benefit services and electronic routing for specialty drugs. Developer documentation is at myfdbproducthub.fdbhealth.com.
What industry is First DataBank in?
First DataBank's product category is Clinical Drug Knowledge / Medication Decision Support Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAEAKAL, PBM Technology Platforms (ePA/eRx/Real-Time Benefit Tools), with a secondary code of HLACAKAN, Medication Pricing, Copay Assistance & Patient Financial Support Tools. Its NAICS code is 524292 and its SIC code is 7372.