Preventing Drug Interactions in Diabetic Patients: The Role of a Mobile Conversational Agent

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a conversational agent embedded in a mobile application aimed at improving the safety of medication use in patients with diabetes, a highly prevalent chronic disease. One of the main challenges in the management of diabetes is the prevention of drug interactions and the understanding of how food can affect treatment. The conversational agent uses a database of drug, food, and pharmacological interaction information to provide both preventive and informative recommendations. In the first scenario, it alerts users to possible interactions between the medications they are planning to take. In the second scenario, it provides information on contraindications, suggests food alternatives, and points out possible drug-food and drug-drug interactions. The design of the conversational agent allows it to understand and answer questions in natural language, making it easier for users to intuitively access relevant information. The usability of the tool was evaluated, resulting in an overall positive perception by users. In addition, the system identifies drug-drug and drug-food interactions and provides useful recommendations as indicated by experts. Although areas for improvement were identified and specific adaptations are needed to fully meet the needs of users, the implementation of the agent through a mobile application has the potential to prevent dangerous interactions for patients with diabetes and significantly improve their quality of life.