What to look for in pharmacokinetic software

This checklist appeared in an article by Neil Massoud, PharmD in the January/February 1994 issue of "ComputerTalk for Pharmacists".

A good pharmacokinetic program should:

Provide fail-safes, such as checks on age and weight, lab values, etc.
Check against standard kinetics values and warn of +/- 2 standard deviations from the norm.
Have storage capability to view what you did the day before or when the patient was in the ICU versus stabilized.
Allow appropriate equation flexibility for all ages.
Offer compatiblity with numerous printers.
Be easy to learn and use.
Be capable of doing steady-state as well as non-steady state.
Perform Bayesian analysis.
Change parameters according to renal- or liver function.
Feel right, in your clinical judgement.