A Digital Tool to Help Doctors and Pharmacists Prescribe Medicines More Safely for Older Adults in Oman

NCT07840222 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: MoH/CSR/26/32760
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 400
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This is a prospective, multi-phase interventional study evaluating the clinical utility and efficacy of POLYMED-a bilingual (Arabic/English) web-based, explainable-AI medication risk calculator-on optimizing geriatric medication safety in Muscat primary care. The primary objective is to evaluate whether deploying this clinical decision support software at the point of care systematically reduces potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and polypharmacy among elderly patients. The study protocol integrates baseline parameterization with an active clinical intervention:

• Phase 1 \& 2 (Baseline \& Tool Validation): A baseline cross-sectional assessment of elderly patients is conducted to quantify local prescribing burdens via international criteria (2023 AGS Beers / STOPP/START v3). These prospective baseline data are used to calibrate and validate the OPIP Score engine powering the POLYMED calculator.
• Phase 3 (Active Intervention Phase): A prospective before-and-after trial evaluates the direct clinical effect of the tool. Clinicians are assigned by the study protocol to actively deploy the POLYMED calculator at the point of care during consultations. The trial measures the resulting changes in polypharmacy burden and medication spending compared to standard, routine care.

Conditions

Polypharmacy

Keywords

POLYMED

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• • Reduction in the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication prescribing following OPIP Score integration, reassessed using the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria

  2 years

Study Arms (1)

OPIP Score-Guided Medication Review

EXPERIMENTAL

A prospective, single-arm cohort of primary care clinicians and their elderly patients (65 years or older) attending chronic disease clinics. The investigator assigns participating clinicians to systematically integrate the OPIP Score calculator into their active workflow. For all prospectively enrolled patients in this phase, pharmacists are required by protocol to utilize the full dashboard and family physicians are prompted via a lightweight prescribing alert to guide structured medication reviews. Clinical and prescribing outcomes from this active intervention phase are evaluated against each patient's own pre-intervention Phase 1 baseline data

Device: OPIP Score Calculator (Oman Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing Risk Score)

Interventions

OPIP Score Calculator (Oman Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing Risk Score) DEVICE

A bilingual (Arabic/English) web-based clinical decision support tool designed to systematically intercept prescribing risks. The software features a three-layer architecture: a rule-based engine executing the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria (incorporating drug-drug interactions and renal dosing alerts), a risk-scoring model calibrated to local Omani clinical data, and an explainable-AI narrative providing explicit, prioritized recommendations. Per the interventional study protocol, clinicians are mandated to deploy this tool at the point of care during consultations to trigger real-time medication reviews. While clinicians maintain final medical autonomy over prescribing modifications, the systematic application of the tool and the mandatory documentation of clinical overrides are driven prospectively by the investigator's study design to alter and optimize the standard care pathway.

Also known as: POLYMED AI Risk Calculator (OPIP Score)

OPIP Score-Guided Medication Review

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years - 85 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 65 years or older at the time of recruitment
• Registered in a chronic disease clinic in a participating primary healthcare centre
• Receiving at least one long-term prescribed medication for chronic disease management
• Able to provide informed consent independently

You may not qualify if:

• Cognitive impairment or severe communication limitations precluding informed consent
• Currently receiving palliative care
• Currently admitted as an inpatient during the recruitment period
• Major medication regimen change within the preceding four weeks

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Oman Ministry of Health: lead

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: A three-phase mixed-methods translational research design, integrating epidemiological evidence generation, digital health innovation, and real-world implementation evaluation

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 12, 2026
• First Posted: September 24, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): November 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028
• Last Updated: September 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share