Delivering Digital Drugs
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Delivering Digital Drugs
IRAS ID
181804
Contact name
Tony Cornford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London School of Economics and Political Science
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
1-SIM-C187, LSE budget ref. ; RG.HECS.101494, Leeds Ref
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 0 days
Research summary
Better healthcare is often associated with making better use of medicines. Increasingly new technology is being used to make supply and use of medicines more effective, safe and efficient, and produce better healthcare. New digital systems could potentially generate value and lead to new models of clinical practice.
In this study we will explore how the supply and use of medicines are changing with the introduction of new technology. In particular we will study five areas of innovation: 1. Systems to protect against the supply of ‘fake’ medicines; 2. Prescribing and administration of medicines in hospital with the use of computers; 3. Monitoring the safety of medicines and reporting of side effects; 4. Digital information for making therapies more personalised for each patient; 5. Technology for patients, to support their use of medicines (including, for example, reminders over mobile phones).
The aim is to investigate these different areas of innovation to understand how the use of medicines is changing and whether and how these innovations interconnect. In particular we will focus on the value of these changes to health care systems and what benefits, if any, can emerge from innovations in these areas, for patients, clinicians, managers, businesses and policy makers.
To this aim, we will use ethnographic methods of research, including interviews, observation and documentary analysis, in a variety of settings. We will observe hospital staff using existing systems, and gather the views of people interested in or touched by these changes, including patients, clinicians, managers, technicians, heads of business, and regulators. We will conduct this research with observations and interviews across NHS hospital organisations that have implemented new digital systems for medicine management; we will do interviews with businesses and regulators in companies and organisations among those working on the supply or control of medicines.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/YH/0568
Date of REC Opinion
16 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion