Desenvolvimento de aplicativo de smartphone como ferramenta de auxílio à elaboração de uma prescrição segura

Abstract

The safe use of drugs is the third global goal proposed by the World Health Organization. Adverse drug events occur due to errors in prescribing, dispensing or administering drugs. Prescription preparation is the most common task in medical practice, however, preparing a physician in training to do so is a major challenge. In this sense, developing an m-learning tool, such as a smartphone application, intends to assist in this process, by increasing availability and ease of access, serving as a search tool for active learning. The research objectives were to develop and make available a smartphone application with information about medications to assist medical residents in preparing a safe prescription in an educational institution, to serve as a self-directed study tool, with reliable information. Methods: An action research was carried out in 4 stages: phase 01 - exploratory, in which the need for a new intervention strategy to improve safety in medical prescription was observed; phase 02 - planning, with the agreement, with the teams of the Hospital's Patient Safety Center and the Hospital Pharmacy, about the content of the application; phase 03 - content development with the cataloging of drugs using the platforms UpToDate®, Micromedex® Drug Info and the leaflets available on the ANVISA website; and application development; phase 04 – use and pilot evaluation of the tool, through a structured online questionnaire. Results: A free smartphone app was developed for institutional use, with basic information related to 72 highly surveillance drugs standardized in this teaching hospital, in addition to an e-book with the same information. A pilot evaluation was carried out to obtain the opinion of potential users about the usefulness of the tool after having access to it for about 15 days. Of the 73 invited to evaluate the tool, 35% (26) completed all stages of the research, of these 84% (16) considered the application useful, 53% (10) were very satisfied with the tool, 89% (17) considered it useful as a learning tool and 100% agreed that the institution should expand the tool to include all standardized drugs. Conclusion: The tool was well accepted among potential users and may be useful to facilitate access to safe information during the preparation of medical prescriptions, intending to contribute to the reduction of inadequacies in them.