Dr Nasir Wabe from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation has been awarded a Medical Research Future Fund 2024 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant Opportunity, with funding worth $4,468,310.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Sakkie Pretorius congratulated Dr Wabe, saying the research stood to improve the safety and quality of care for older Australians.
“AI technology offers a promising way to address the challenges of deprescribing in aged care, helping clinicians make better-informed decisions for the wellbeing of their residents,” he said.
Dr Wabe’s project aims to develop, implement and evaluate an AI-augmented platform for safe, efficient, person-centred deprescribing in aged care.
“With the vast amount of electronic data available in aged care, AI offers an unprecedented opportunity to enhance medication safety,” Dr Wabe said.
Deprescribing is the process of dose reduction or stopping of medication that is either no longer required or actively causing harm. It is undertaken under strict supervision.
In Australian aged care, deprescribing faces challenges due to hesitance on behalf of the prescribing clinician, multimorbidity, and limited communication.
AI-enhanced systems can address this, identifying deprescribing opportunities, tailoring plans and monitoring progress.
“Integrating AI into routine workflows bridges communication gaps and supports decision-making, providing clinicians with personalised, data-driven insights to confidently navigate the deprescribing process,” Dr Wabe said.
The chief investigator team includes researchers from the University of Western Australia, Central Adelaide Local Health Network Incorporated, Edith Cowan University, University of Queensland, University of Adelaide, University of Sydney, and University of Technology Sydney.
BestMed, Choice Aged Care, Anglicare, Australian Association of Gerontology, Australian Deprescribing Network, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Southern Cross Care NSW and ACT, and Regis Aged Care will all partner in the project, providing in-kind support.
