Drug Database

Alternatives

HCI Documedis vs Drug Database — when a self-serve API is the constraint.

HCI Solutions Documedis is the established Swiss medication and clinical-decision-support platform, deeply embedded in pharmacy and hospital systems. Drug Database is a self-serve lookup and API over public registers. Here is the honest side-by-side — including where Documedis is the better fit.

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DimensionHCI DocumedisDrug Database
  • Swiss reimbursement & dispensing dataYesYes
  • Clinically curated decision supportYesPartly
  • Self-serve REST / GraphQL / MCP APIPartlyYes
  • Published, self-serve pricingNoYes
  • Multi-country coveragePartlyYes
  • Change feed & webhooksPartlyYes
  • FHIR R4 Medication outputPartlyYes
  • Established clinical install baseYesNo
HCI Documedis3 yes · 4 partly · 1 no
Drug Database6 yes · 1 partly · 1 no

YesPartlyNo

The 8 rows of the table below, as marks. Where a row goes against us, it is shown the same way.

At a glance

HCI Documedis vs Drug Database, row by row.

Where a row is unfavourable to us, it says so. Documedis carries clinically curated content and an install base we do not claim; Drug Database competes on published pricing, a self-serve API and multi-country coverage.

YesPartlyNo
HCI Documedis341
Drug Database611
HCI Documedis compared with Drug Database, dimension by dimension
DimensionHCI DocumedisDrug Database
Swiss reimbursement & dispensing dataYes:Yes — a core part of the Swiss medication offering.Yes:BAG-SL reimbursement and Swissmedic dispensing category on Swiss rows.
Clinically curated decision supportYes:Yes — curated decision-support content is the product.Partly:Severity for any medication list on every plan (DDInter, non-commercial licence); mechanism and management from Growth. Not curated CDS, not clinical advice.
Self-serve REST / GraphQL / MCP APIPartly:Integration through partner and customer contracts; no self-serve key.Yes:Public REST + GraphQL + an MCP server; Bearer key, OpenAPI, sign up and go.
Published, self-serve pricingNo:Quote-based; prices are not published.Yes:Free (10 lookups in total), Pro $29/mo, Starter $99/mo, Growth $490/mo; Enterprise quoted.
Multi-country coveragePartly:Swiss-centric.Yes:19 countries’ registers, more than 600,000 products.
Change feed & webhooksPartly:Updates arrive through the platform; no public change feed advertised.Yes:GET /v1/changes?since=… on every plan; signed webhooks from Starter.
FHIR R4 Medication outputPartly:Not a published, self-serve feature.Yes:?format=fhir on a drug record returns an R4 Medication.
Established clinical install baseYes:Deeply embedded across Swiss pharmacies and hospitals.No:Younger; a lookup and an API, not an installed clinical system.

Drug Database reads public sources (Swissmedic, the BAG Spezialitätenliste, AIPS, the WHO ATC index, …). We are not affiliated with or endorsed by HCI Solutions or any register. HCI does not publish Documedis prices; ask them for a quote.

When to pick each

Honest scenarios — no winner-takes-all.

Where HCI Documedis is the better fit, the table says so: Clinically curated decision support; Established clinical install base.

HCI Documedis leads

2

  • Clinically curated decision support
  • Established clinical install base

Level

1

  • Swiss reimbursement & dispensing data

Drug Database leads

5

  • Self-serve REST / GraphQL / MCP API
  • Published, self-serve pricing
  • Multi-country coverage
  • Change feed & webhooks
  • FHIR R4 Medication output
The rows of the table above, grouped by which side has the stronger mark.

Pick HCI Documedis when…

  • You need clinically curated decision-support content as the product, not register data.
  • You are buying an integrated platform for a pharmacy or hospital, with vendor support contracts.
  • Deep integration with existing Swiss clinical software is a requirement.

Pick Drug Database when…

  • You want to look medicines up across countries — in a browser or over an API — with a free account to judge it first.
  • You need published pricing and a key in minutes, not a tenant contract.
  • You want multi-country coverage, a change feed and FHIR output out of the box.

Use them together

  • Keep Documedis for curated clinical decision support where that matters.
  • Use Drug Database as the data and identifier layer behind your own apps and analyses.
  • Resolve Swiss identifiers (Pharmacode, GTIN) with one lookup endpoint.
See the code lookup

FAQ

Questions buyers ask before they switch.

Other comparisons

Check for yourself

Is Drug Database a replacement for HCI Documedis?
Not for clinically curated decision support. Documedis ships curated CDS content; Drug Database is a lookup and API over public registers (Swissmedic, BAG-SL, AIPS, the WHO ATC index and more). If you need multi-country drug data behind your own software or analysis, Drug Database fits; if you need a clinical platform embedded in pharmacy or hospital software, Documedis is the better choice.
How does pricing compare?
HCI Solutions does not publish Documedis prices; licensing is quoted per customer. Drug Database publishes its plans: a free account (10 lookups in total and a one-time 5¢ AI credit, no card), Pro $29/mo, Starter $99/mo, Growth $490/mo, and Enterprise on quote. Prices are in USD.
Does Drug Database have the same Swiss data?
For the public registers, broadly yes: BAG-SL reimbursement, Swissmedic dispensing category, Pharmacode and ATC are present on Swiss rows. What we do not replicate is Documedis’s proprietary, clinically curated decision-support content.
Is Drug Database a medical device?
No. It is an informational reference that shows what the official registers publish, with the source and date. Check the source of record before any clinical decision.
Are you affiliated with HCI Solutions?
No. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by HCI Solutions, Swissmedic, BAG or any other source. We read publicly available register data and label where it comes from.

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