New AI Tool Will Predict Patients at High Risk for Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose (UF College of Pharmacy)

New AI Tool Will Predict Patients at High Risk for Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose

University of Florida researchers are developing a new artificial intelligence tool that will help clinicians identify patients at high risk for opioid use disorder and overdose.

The tool will use data from patients’ electronic medical records to guide clinicians in safely and effectively prescribing opioid medications. The project is supported by a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, and aims to reduce the unprecedented rise in opioid overdose and opioid use disorder in the United States.

“In 2019, almost 12 million Americans reported misuse of prescription opioids, and this public health crisis is placing a substantial burden on individuals, families, society and our health care system,” said Wei-Hsuan “Jenny” Lo-Ciganic, Ph.D., M.S., M.S.Pharm., an associate professor of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy in the UF College of Pharmacy and the principal investigator of the NIDA grant. “If we can more accurately identify patients who are at a high risk for opioid use disorder and overdose, then we can better allocate resources and provide timely and targeted interventions.”

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