New AI Tool, DrugGPT, aims to help doctors prescribe medicines in England
DrugGPT, an AI tool developed at Oxford University, offers a safety net for clinicians by providing instant second opinions on prescriptions and information on medication adherence
Drug prescriptions are integral to medical practice, yet errors in prescribing and patient non-adherence remain a persistent challenge in healthcare. Oxford University has introduced a potential solution: DrugGPT, an AI tool designed to address these issues.
Developed by Prof David Clifton’s team at Oxford’s AI for Healthcare lab, DrugGPT aims to assist clinicians in accurately prescribing medications and empower patients to understand and adhere to their treatment regimens.
“It will give you guidance – the research, flowcharts, and references – and explain why it recommends this particular drug,” says Professor David Clifton.
The tool functions by allowing healthcare professionals to input a patient’s conditions into the chatbot.
The chatbot then generates a list of recommended drugs while flagging possible adverse effects and drug interactions.
What sets DrugGPT apart is its ability to explain its recommendations, offering insights into the underlying research and rationale.
While some doctors currently utilize mainstream generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini for diagnostic support, concerns regarding inaccuracies persist.
However, Clifton and his team assert that DrugGPT demonstrates competitive performance with human experts, as evidenced by its effectiveness in U.S. medical licensing exams, as stated in a preprint.
The research underscores the necessity for such a tool, indicating a significant prevalence of medication errors in England, which cost both financially and in terms of patient lives.
According to the British Medical Journal, approximately 237 million medication errors occur annually in England, resulting in a substantial economic burden and preventable fatalities.
Moreover, patient non-adherence to prescribed medication further exacerbates these challenges, leading to substantial financial losses for NHS England.
Dr. Lucy Mackillop, a consultant obstetric physician at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, highlights DrugGPT’s potential to equip doctors with comprehensive drug information amid busy schedules.
Source: Newsroom
