Aberdeen University researchers are part of a £2 million project which aims to reduce the number of medical mistakes in care homes across the country.
The team will work with colleagues from East Anglia, Leeds and the Belfast-based Queen’s University on a five-year study which will examine why residents are given incorrect dosages, or sometimes the wrong medicine completely.
Previous research suggests specially trained pharmacists should work together with residents’ GPs to ensure prescriptions are given out correctly.
The new scheme, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, will seek to find out if this model is effective at improving care and saving money.
Professor Christine Bond from the Aberdeen University team said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for GPs and pharmacists to work together to improve patient care in the primary care setting.
“By determining the cost effectiveness of the intervention rather than just its effectiveness we also increase the chance of the service being adopted more widely at a later date.”
An award-winning Aberdeen University spin-out company has also received a £1.4 million research grant to investigate how eye movement problems can help diagnose major psychiatric disorders.
Saccade Diagnostics, secured the award from the Department of Health and the Wellcome Trust.
