New Software Can Prevent Medical Mistakes

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Shapiro Law Group

Software capable of catching medical errors is being used by hospitals in the Dakotas. The software knows the details of a patient’s history, including allergies, prior and current health conditions and genetics. Using advanced data analytics, the software is designed to prevent misdiagnosis, medication errors and other common medical mistakes. According Buzzfeed, the software is part of a new technique supported by the Obama administration’s Precision Medicine Initiative.

The software, developed by bioinformatics company Synapse, is currently in use at Sanford Health’s hospital in North Dakota. By using the software, doctors will be able to prevent harmful mistakes, such as drug interactions. To test the effectiveness of the software, more than 450 patients have volunteered to have their DNA genotyped at certified laboratories operated by Sanford Health and an additional 1,000 have been genotyped at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Can New Technology Help Health Care Professionals Avoid Medical Mistakes?

Does the new software work? According to the case of a woman who checked into Sanford Health with chest pains, it does. Her doctor almost wrote a prescription for the drug Plavix, but the software alerted him that the patient had a rare genetic mutation that could make the drug cause clotting. Instead of prescribing a potentially harmful medication, the physician prescribed Brilinta. According to reports, the medication treated her condition within two hours. Presently, Synapse is only capable of testing for gene-drug relationships.

Future technology may play a greater role in preventing medical and hospital mistakes. Doctors and other health care professional possessing more tools to avoid mistakes is certainly a welcome change.

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