Navigating personalized medication: unveiling user needs to forge a cutting-edge platform for proactive prevention and monitoring of adverse drug reactions

The present landscape of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) cases paints a somber picture, with statistics indicating that a substantial proportion of hospital admissions result from patients experiencing drug side effects. The existing solutions for preventing and monitoring ADRs, however, seem to operate in isolation. Addressing these gaps calls for the creation of a fully integrated platform for preventing and monitoring ADRs. Central to the success of such a platform is understanding user needs. This research focused on identifying functional needs for physicians and patients, along with non-functional requirements from hospital information system providers. This study employs a user-centered design methodology structured around a series of key steps that collectively guide the process of user needs and requirement identification and analysis. For an overarching view of the functional requirements, questionnaires were utilized to engage both physicians and patients. For gathering non-functional requirements interviews were conducted with Hospital Information System Providers. 37 physicians and 40 patients participated in the survey. Physicians favored Drug Information Checker, Drug-to-Drug Interaction Checker, Patient ADR Report history-based drug checker, and other general features. Patients prioritized ADR Reporting, Medication Reminders, and mobile platform accessibility. Additionally, two hospital system experts highlighted non-functional prerequisites, including interoperability, security, usability, availability, and performance. This study focus encompassed three pivotal actors: physicians, patients, and hospital information system providers. Physicians and patients lent insights into functional requirements that mirror their clinical and personal journeys, respectively. Meanwhile, the contributions of hospital information system providers illuminated the non-functional aspects imperative for a seamlessly integrated platform.