Reducing medication errors through proactive and dynamic safety reasoning

Contact: Dr Ibrahim Habli

This project builds on the Safety Modelling, Assurance and Report Toolset (SMART) that is currently being developed and evaluated by the University of York and NHS Digital. The research will extend SMART through new dynamic risk models and uncertainty assessment algorithms for proactively computing the confidence in, and updating the reasoning about, the safety of the medication services based on real-time data.

This will be combined with a set of update rules triggering actions in response to changes in the services, clinical settings, the safety argument or the confidence in that argument, prompting action on leading indicators/precursors before they potentially develop into errors and patient harm. Usability and user acceptance is a primary requirement. Data and risk communication interfaces will be adapted to suit the different needs and concerns of various stakeholders, eg patients, clinicians, managers, researchers and engineers.