Prevention of Mis-Prescribing in the Elderly: A Potential Use for Micro-Computers

• Main Authors: Edmond, E.D., Tallis, R.C., O'Halloran, A., Al-Hamouz, S.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Medicine and Health
• ISSN: 0195-4210

The elderly are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of drugs because of multiple pathology, consequent polypharmacy and age related pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes. Frequently these adverse effects are due to the inadvertent prescribing of contra-indicated or interacting drugs. Some errors of this type arise because of the physicians lack of knowledge of clinical pharmacology or a failure to relate such knowledge to the available information about the patient. The computer system described aims to prevent such errors by alerting physicians when prescribing adversely interacting or contra indicated drugs. It operates by checking prescriptions against individual patient information and a drug database which incorporates the latest intelligence on contra-indications and interactions. The system was implemented using the DBase-II relation database management system and can be mounted on any CP/M 8 bit or 16 bit microcomputer with a disc storage capacity greater than 2 Megabytes. It is free standing, portable, costs less than $5000 and can be used in any hospital ward or primary care centre. The system is menu driven, user friendly, requires little instruction and was designed to be used by medical staff on short term contract. It integrates with the pharmacy drug cost audit, medical research activity, and assists with teaching and the preparation of discharge summaries.