FDB Vela and Optum introduce dual market e-prescribing network

April 29, 2026 | 4-minute read

South San Francisco, CA, and Eden Prairie, MN, — April 29, 2026  — FDB (First Databank, Inc.) and Optum have expanded their longstanding collaboration through the integration of Optum’s e-prescribing technologies with the FDB Vela™ cloud-native network.  

This strategic advancement delivers one of the industry’s first dual market e-prescribing infrastructures supporting both human health and veterinary medicine. 

The FDB–Optum connection directly addresses two longstanding critical challenges: enabling veterinarians to electronically prescribe at the same level as human prescribers, and maintaining uninterrupted prescription delivery for all prescribers in the event of network disruptions.  

For prescribers of human medications, the collaboration establishes a secure, multipath routing framework designed to protect clinicians, pharmacies and patients from care delays caused by transmission outages.  

At the same time, the advancement gives veterinarians similar abilities to electronically prescribe for their patients that clinicians on the human side of medicine have long experienced, while also offering additional fulfillment options at retail pharmacies for pet parents. 

“We are closing the technology gap between human and animal health,” says FDB President David Delaney. “By partnering with Optum, we aren't just digitizing pet prescriptions; we are building a redundant, fail-safe infrastructure. Whether it’s a pediatrician or a veterinarian, the goal is the same: ensuring that system latency or downtime never stands between a patient and their medicine.” 

A key differentiator of this partnership is its simultaneous support for human and veterinary e-prescribing, offering the first fully end-to-end electronic prescription workflow for animal health in the United States.  

The combined capabilities of Optum Clinical Exchange, FDB Vela and the Optum EPS pharmacy management system create an integrated continuum from the point of care through pharmacy fulfillment, reducing manual processes and improving accuracy across the veterinary care ecosystem.  

Through the tight integration of Optum Clinical Exchange, Optum’s e-prescription Routing Service and the FDB Vela cloud-native network, prescribers benefit from automatic multipath routing that maintains prescription flow even when one pathway experiences delays or downtime. These routing decisions operate entirely in the background, ensuring uninterrupted workflows. 

In addition, FDB Vela functions as a full-service intermediary, enabling prescription traffic to and from a broad ecosystem of integrated partners. This ensures connectivity not only within Optum’s technology stack, but across diverse prescriber systems, pharmacy networks, and other industry participants. 

Approximately 8,500 prescribers are live on FDB Vela through Clinical Exchange, and thousands of pharmacies across the country can securely receive prescriptions through the network. Adoption is slated to grow significantly throughout 2026. 

“FDB and Optum are jointly setting a new benchmark for reliability, scale and innovation in prescription routing,” adds John Foss, Senior Vice President, Network and Data for Optum Insight. “Together, we are building an infrastructure prepared to support the next era of connected care across both human and veterinary medicine.” 

About FDB 

FDB (First Databank) delivers clinically robust, workflow-integrated drug knowledge that is intuitive, patient-specific and actionable, enabling more precise medication decisions at the point of care.  

Trusted for its rigorous quality control, deep clinical expertise and collaborative approach, FDB helps improve patient safety, streamline operations and enhance health outcomes.  

FDB’s comprehensive drug databases and next-generation medication decision-support solutions power healthcare information systems used by the majority of hospitals, physician practices, pharmacies, payers and beyond, impacting millions of clinicians, business associates and patients every day.  

FDB Vela™ is a cloud-native electronic prescribing network that enables the seamless flow of critical medication prescription information, benefits verification and clinical decision support between prescribers, payers and pharmacies. 

To learn more about FDB Vela, please visit https://www.fdbvela.com. For a complete look at FDB’s solutions and services, please visit https://www.fdbhealth.com or follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. 

About Hearst Health 

The mission of Hearst Health is to guide health care organizations by delivering essential intelligence and software that improve the quality, safety and efficiency of care.  

Hearst Health has been innovating with care for more than 40 years, with a commitment to making a lasting, positive impact on health. The Hearst Health companies — FDB, Homecare Homebase, MCG, MHK, QGenda and Zynx Health — elevate care by informing and empowering participants across the health journey.  

Learn more at www.hearst.com/hearst-health and follow @Hearst Health on LinkedIn. 

About Optum

Optum is a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 310,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). For more information, visit www.optum.com.

Media Contact:
Supreme Communications for FDB at FDBPR@supremecomms.ai