Software solutions could couple symptoms with drug side effects
Consulting SPCs can be time-consuming |
Computer software could be used to discover whether a patient's reported symptoms may be linked to a side effect of their medication, according to Liverpool GP and GP trainer David
Orlans.
Currently, if GPs want to check whether a patient’s symptoms may
be caused by drug side effects they have to look at resources such as
the British National Formulary or manufacturers’ summaries of product
characteristics. “This is time consuming and information can be
missed,” Dr Orlans said.
But since all patient medication is listed on the practice computer system,
a computer program could search the drugs database, feed in the details
of the patient’s medication and then identify any link between
the recognised side effects of any medicine the patient was taking and
his or her symptoms.
Dr Orlans believes that such a system could also be incorporated into
programs used by pharmacies, hospital accident and emergency departments
and walk-in centres and could save lives as well as millions of pounds
for the NHS.
Clinical decision support provider First DataBank Europe is currently
incorporating this kind of functionality into its drug knowledge base
as part of ongoing development plans. Polly Shepperdson,
FDBE product manager, told The Journal: “At the moment
it is possible to view a list of all the side effects associated with
a particular medicine.
We’re gradually increasing the functionality around these data
to include a search function and, later, to use coded patient symptom
inputs.”
Once this functionality is made available, a clinician
in any health care setting, including pharmacy, will be able to enter
a symptom to find out if it, or a related symptom, is a side effect related
to the patient’s list of medicines, she explained.
Dominic Vaughan, BNF publishing director, said that
expanding the accessibility of BNF information is under consideration: “Using
the BNF and BNF for Children side effect information in the way described
is part of
our road-map for digital developments.”
A system that displays
appropriate BNF contra-indications information to users in real time
during the prescribing process is already in use at University Hospital
Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, he pointed out. “We would expect
this functionality to be delivered in a similar way,” he said.
Dr Orlans believes that a link to the Committee on Safety of Medicines
should also be written into the software so that any side effects could
be registered with the committee and new trends picked up.
He said: “You
could get some form of post marketing surveillance on any drug anywhere
in the world on a continuous basis and it would be particularly useful
for new drugs.” |
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