4CPS-043 A digital assistant for self-reporting medication allergy history (ChaRM-A): discrepancies between medication allergy history documentation by patients supported by a digital assistant and pharmacy technicians

<h3>Background and Importance</h3> Electronic personal health records (ePHRs) increasingly allow patients to manage their own medical data. Integration of a digital assistant (DA; ie, a conversational agent) into ePHRs may be of added value as a supportive tool to help better engage patients and improve patients’ experience of entering (complex) data. Previously, the use of a DA for self-reporting of medication history (ChaRM) showed positive results. Consequently, an additional prototype was developed that supports patients in documenting their medication <i>allergy</i> history (ChaRM-A). <h3>Aim and Objectives</h3> To evaluate the accuracy of self-reported medication allergy histories guided by ChaRM-A compared to pharmacy technicians. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> A prospective, observational study was conducted from February-May 2025. Outpatients ≥18 years, scheduled for a visit to the outpatient medication reconciliation department, were randomly selected for participation. Patients performed medication allergy history taking in an online standalone environment with ChaRM-A support. Subsequently, a pharmacy technician conducted medication reconciliation including medication allergy history taking (usual care). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with a discrepancy between the two composed medication allergy lists. Secondary outcomes were the nature and prevalence of the discrepancies, their clinical relevance and potential risk factors. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics and regression analysis. <h3>Results</h3> Forty-five patients (median age 66 years (IQR 57-76), range 19-88 years) documented their medication allergy history with support of ChaRM-A. The median time they needed was 2 minutes and 27 seconds (IQR 01:33-04:39). Sixteen (35.6%) patients did not have any allergies. The other 29 patients documented ≥1 allergy and 28 (96.6%) of them had ≥1 discrepancy (median 1 discrepancy per patient (IQR 1-4), range 1-10). In total, 70 discrepancies were found: 37.1% documentation deviations, 35.7% omissions and 27.1% additions. Most discrepancies (n=61, 87.1%) were classified as unharmful. The number of discrepancies per patient was significantly associated with the number of allergies per patient (p=0.03 (95% CI: 1.03-1.94)). <h3>Conclusion and Relevance</h3> Although numerous discrepancies were found between medication allergy histories self-reported by patients with a DA and pharmacy technicians, their clinical relevance was low, indicating that a DA may safely support patients. Optimisation of the DA and additional research is needed to fully support patients in self-reporting medication allergies. <h3>Conflict of Interest</h3> No conflict of interest