EU builds central drug database for pregnant women, finds need for faster updates
European health authorities have launched a unified digital knowledge bank to guide doctors and pregnant women on medication safety across the continent. The project revealed unexpected demand for translated versions in countries lacking local resources, signaling both a gap in current guidance and an opportunity to standardize pregnancy care decisions across Europe.
Originaltitel: Report describing synthesis of evidence and testing the knowledge databank and recommendations for sustainability (D5.8)
The aim of task 5.2 is to develop an EU centralised digital knowledge bank for healthcare professionals and pregnant or breastfeeding women with up to date information on drug use before and during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and on the risks of untreated disease (in English), by combining information from different sources and providing common knowledge. This report describes the synthesis of evidence and testing the knowledge databank and recommendations for sustainability. During the process of writing the information pages, additional needs have been identified, mainly concerning efficiency of writing the pages. In addition, there was found to be a stronger desire than previously anticipated for the provision of translation of knowledge pages for countries that do not have a local knowledge bank. These updates are intended to ensure the knowledge bank is novel and adequately addresses the needs of women and healthcare professionals throughout Europe. We are currently working on these aspects. Concerning the technical development of the MUMS website, the functionalities of the public website and those needed to upload an information page are realized. For these functionalities, the focus of the development team is on testing and fine tuning. In parallel they are working on the other predefined functionalities. For sustainability steps have been set into drafting the operational and governance model, as well as the legal setting. The European Network of Teratology Information Services (ENTIS) has agreed to take over the governance and operation of MUMS after the ConcePTION project ends, to be hosted by one of its member centres. However, funding is required. Ideally MUMS should have a three-year funded plan, covering maintenance and incremental growth.