Pharmaceutical decision support systems (PDSS) are artificial intelligence-based tools that enable real-time identification of high-risk iatrogenic drug situations. They are gradually being deployed and integrated into clinical pharmacy activities in French-speaking countries, but the way they work varies from one establishment to another. For this reason, a desire to harmonize practices has arisen following the French-speaking PDSS user days in Lille in September 2021. The first task identified by the community of practice, set up within the ANAP in 2022, was to create a common French-speaking vocabulary to talk about these tools. The aim of this work is to establish a consensual French-language terminology for terms used in the operation and assessment of PDSSs, by creating a glossary common to users of these tools.

Methods

The creation of this glossary was based on a Delphi methodology, via online questionnaires sent to a panel of expert users of these PDSSs. The process followed a 3-stage methodology: (i) identification of the term to be defined; (ii) naming of the term; and (iii) definition of the term. At each stage, the term, its naming and finally its definition had to achieve consensus in order to move on to the next stage (degree of consensus set at ≥ 75%). Experts responding to the questionnaire had to be users of a PDSS and practicing in a French-speaking country.

Results and Discussion

A total of 22 terms were identified and defined. For each of them, a definition was provided, and for some of them, synonyms were used to complete the definition. This initial work is a preliminary work for launching the other projects identified by the community of practice, in order to collaborate and structure together the use, integration and enhancement of these tools in pharmaceutical professional practices.