The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), on behalf of Pharmaceutical Press, the RPS’s knowledge business, has provided landmark funding as a mark of its confidence.
Dosium’s clinical decision support technology aims to improve the speed, consistency and safety of prescribing. Now the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), on behalf of Pharmaceutical Press, the RPS’s knowledge business, has provided landmark funding as a mark of its confidence.
This investment deepens an existing collaboration between Pharmaceutical Press and Dosium and underscores the RPS’ belief in the company’s potential to revolutionise clinical decision support systems in the UK and increase patient safety.
Dosium’s Touchdose is the only decision support solution that automatically calculates the correct dosage of any drug for any individual patient using an exclusive integration with British National Formulary (BNF) and BNF for Children (BNFC) as well as local guidelines. The funds will be used to bring electronic prescribing solutions, driven by BNF and BNFC to market, to support the safe and effective use of medicines.
Medication errors are a persistent scourge, totalling an estimated 237M a year and accounting for more than 180,000 excess NHS bed days each year and over 1,700 unnecessary deaths.
Dr Nicholas Appelbaum, Co-Founder of Dosium, highlighted the gravity of the issue:
"Deaths due to medication errors are roughly equivalent to the annual number of deaths from road traffic accidents in the UK, or akin to four fully laden Boeing 747 jumbo jets.
"Our work with BNF and BNFC is instrumental in enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of electronic prescribing systems moving forward. We are very glad to be making this critical piece of technology available at last.”
Kate Towers, Content Director for BNF and BNFC at Pharmaceutical Press, said:
“BNF and BNFC are crucial resources in the NHS supporting the safe and effective use of medicines. Working with Dosium to provide BNF and BNFC content within prescribing systems at the patient bedside is a truly exciting development, combining gold-standard BNF and BNFC content with cutting edge technologies to further drive patient benefit and support clinician confidence.”
Karen Baxter, Managing Director of Pharmaceutical Press and Deputy CEO of RPS, said:
“This investment in Dosium reflects our belief in its potential to lead a transformation in clinical decision support systems in the UK. Dosium’s clinically-driven approach to putting BNF and BNF for Children at the centre of electronic prescribing will significantly reduce medication errors, improve patient outcomes, and streamline clinical workflows.”
Founded by a doctor and a dedicated team of patient safety experts, Dosium is on a mission to reduce avoidable harm caused by prescribing errors - a problem that is pervasive, yet largely avoidable with the right technology.
Leveraging an exclusive integration with British National Formulary and BNF for Children (BNF and BNFC), Dosium quickly and automatically calculates the correct dosage of any drug for any individual patient and any indication. It offers an alternative to manual and error prone methods, which include mental arithmetic, unregulated apps, and/or the use of systems that overload staff with alerts and notifications but do little to improve safety.
The company was born at Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation, using clinical insights from research in trauma and critical care units at Imperial College London, and working hand in hand with clinicians to design a system to truly improve prescribing safety.
When health professionals need to make the right decision, Pharmaceutical Press puts evidence-based pharmaceutical knowledge at their fingertips. With an unmatched commitment to independently sourcing, evaluating and communicating accurate information, its expert knowledge is trusted worldwide.
As the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s knowledge business, Pharmaceutical Press invests its resources into creating world-class tools that promote best practice in medicines use, which means health professionals can quickly and confidently make the most informed decisions.
The RPS advocates for the pharmacy profession in the UK, advancing the science, practice, and education of pharmacy. It supports pharmacists in their professional development to enhance patient care.
BNF and BNFC provide practical, evidence-based information for health professionals who prescribe, dispense and administer medicines in support of patient safety and best clinical practice. BNF and BNFC are published in partnership by BMJ Group, Pharmaceutical Press, the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society’s knowledge business, RCPCH Publications, and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacy Group.
