How a ‘virtual pharmacist’ could reduce the risk of dangerous falls for thousands of Brits

Nearly half of people over 65 in England take at least five different medications daily. A third of children in the same age group now experience at least one fall per year.

Experts believe that the two statistics are linked and that the rapid rise of “polypharmacy” poses new health risks for older people.

Prescription medications can interact and cause additional side effects such as dizziness and confusion, which can lead to falls.

And since about a fifth of falls among older adults can result in injury, it could also cost the NHS additional billions of dollars.

But now help may be on the way. A plan to develop a “virtual pharmacist” that can detect useless drug combinations before they cause harm has received £1 million in government funding and could be implemented by the end of 2023.

The idea is to replace the knowledge of individual patient generic prescriptions that is lost when people no longer use one local pharmacist and sometimes order drugs online.

Connect Care, a London-based startup developing the new technology, says it could help identify thousands of Britons at risk of serious falls every year so that preventive action can be taken.

Waterfalls facts

• Falls are the most common type of accident in the elderly, especially those at risk for polypharmacy or multiple medications.
• Across the country, one in three people over the age of 65 falls at least once a year, according to the NHS, and about 20 percent of those falls involve injuries.
• It is estimated that about 40 percent of these falls are preventable. With a rapidly aging population, the frequency and prevalence of falls is expected to increase significantly.
• Elderly people who survive a fall are at increased risk of relapse and hospitalization.
• Falls are not only a human burden, they can also lead to significant medical costs. They cost NHS England about £2.3bn a year and the total annual cost of minor fragility fractures in the UK is estimated at £4.4bn, of which hip fractures account for about £2bn.

The system can also help detect many other potential hazards by identifying people taking drug combinations that put them at increased risk for various side effects, such as: B. Blood pressure changes, dehydration, or weight gain.

The virtual pharmacist can also access patient records and analyze their medications, medical history, and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, or general weakness to determine risk.

“We often forget what healthcare and medicine used to be,” says Issa Dasu-Patel, co-founder of Connect Care.

“The relationship between patients and the people who cared for them was very personal. But today we live in a world where, quite frankly, we do not have enough resources to dispatch medical workers en masse on a daily basis.”

He argues that modern healthcare IT systems are not designed to evaluate interactions between drugs, and the workload on staff means they have little time to study each patient’s case for possible conflicts between drugs.

Meanwhile, because medical records are difficult to access or are kept on paper, people are not always warned about the potential side effects of a new drug or possible interactions with drugs they are already taking.

“We are connecting the dots and uncovering the huge benefits that better drug discovery can bring to patients and healthcare professionals,” said Dasu-Patel.

For example, in the event of falls, the technology can signal that a recently prescribed diuretic is causing an older person to urinate frequently, a high-risk area for falls. Preventive solutions may include securing the patient’s bathroom or reviewing medications.

Mr. Dasu-Patel said the software platform could also be improved if “a certain drug combination can cause dehydration, which means the patient has to drink more.”

A 2018 study by the University of Cambridge found that the percentage of people over 65 in England taking five or more medications has quadrupled over the past two decades, from 12 percent to 49 percent.

Professor Christina Pagel of University College London, an expert on using information to improve health care, is not involved in the Connect Care program but believes that such an approach could be useful.

“There is so much information stored in NHS records, but much of it remains largely inaccessible because it is stuck in long text documents or stored in different systems that do not communicate with each other,” she said.

“Any system that helps bring this valuable information to medical teams at the bedside is a huge step forward in further improving and personalizing patient care.”

Julia Glenn, Head of Innovation for Healthy Aging at UK Research and Innovation, which directs public funds for research into promising projects and supports Connect Care, said: “We are excited about this technology – drug management and optimization are an integral part aging”.

“One of our priorities is to invest in solutions that help people stay at home healthier and more independent as they age.”

Nathan Downing, Director of Membership and Advisory Services at TSA, a high-tech care industry association who is not involved, said: “This has huge potential to transform adult social care by empowering not only people, but people. “Those who care for them are getting stronger.

“Providing healthcare professionals with better tools and more information about people’s medications will help them make better decisions about their care to help them live happier, healthier and safer lives.”