INTERPOLAR: Comprehensive datasets on medication safety available – data analyses begin

12th INTERPOLAR Day on March 26–27, 2026 in Leipzig

On March 26 and 27, project members from the INTERPOLAR project met to exchange on the next phase of the studies on medication safety.

INTERPOLAR investigates how IT-supported medication analyses can assist hospital pharmacists in identifying clinically relevant and potentially preventable medication-related problems.

Project lead Prof. Dr. Markus Löffler (Leipzig University) opened the event with a brief overview of the results to date: In the first phase of the INTERPOLAR study, the project team introduced a harmonized, cross-site documentation system for medication analyses and medication-related problems at all participating sites. In total, more than 27,000 medication analyses, over 16,000 medication-related problems, and more than 600 contraindications were recorded across the 14 participating university hospitals during the first phase.

Initial basis for data analyses on medication safety

In January 2026, the INTERPOLAR studies entered the second phase, in which algorithms are used to identify medication-related problems. The basis for this is a list of contraindications curated by experts. In the next step, the algorithmically identified medication-related problems are evaluated for accuracy and relevance. Initial assessments have already been completed and will continue through approximately mid-year.

Another key focus of the meeting was on specific data analysis projects that can be carried out by project staff based on the extensive dataset. Dr. Daniel Neumann (Leipzig University) presented potential topics, including:

• Gender-specific analyses of medication-related problems
• Factor analyses to explain successful interventions in medication-related problems
• Identification of triggers for adverse drug events
• Detected contraindications across different levels of intervention over time, e.g., with and without IT support for ward pharmacists
• Clinical contextualization of algorithmically detected contraindications
  

Further discussion topics included status reports from the work packages, the presentation of the statistical analysis plan, and the implementation of the core data set toolchain. The next INTERPOLAR Day is expected to take place in November.