It’s back! Parkinson’s ‘nil by mouth’ medication calculator gets an overhaul
Following an update, and successful registration as a Class 1 medical device with the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), PDMedCalc is available to use in medical practice.
Through extensive development and testing, the online calculator now meets current treatment standards, has improved safety, and a better end-user interface. It is also now registered as a MHRA registered Class 1 medical device. You can read about what that means on the MHRA website.
All of this will decrease the chances of clinicians making medication errors when converting a patient’s Parkinson’s medication dose to a non-oral form in acute settings.
The calculator’s lead creator, Dr James Fisher, Consultant Geriatrician at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said of the updated calculator:
"With PDMedCalc being used by clinicians across the UK more than 7000 times a year, we hope that the revised calculator will continue to make a positive difference for Parkinson’s community, as it is well recognised that medicines management during hospital stays can be problematic."
Dr Fisher was successful in securing the first Parkinson’s Excellence Network Project Grants funding in 2022 for his submission: Redeveloping PDMedCalc. You can find out more about the grants by visiting the dedicated Excellence Network Project Grants Scheme webpage.
In addition to the funding support provided by the grant, the Parkinson’s Excellence Network Funding Panel recommended pursuing the MHRA registration to increase confidence in the use of the calculator.
Want more information on PDMedCalc?
Visit the Parkinson’s Excellence Network resource directory to see more information on the purpose and development of the PDMedCalc ‘nil by mouth’ Parkinson’s medication dose calculator.