Researchers at Technical University of Valencia have developed a new tool called FMB scale to estimate the risk of using medicines while driving, offering clearer and more useful information for both health care professionals and patients.
Researchers from the SABIEN group at the ITACA Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), in collaboration with several partner institutions, have developed a new tool to estimate the risk of using medicines while driving. This tool is called FMB scale (Mobility and Risk Basis Factor) and was published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety.
The research, led by Vicente Traver and Salvador Borja, introduces the FMB scale as a continuous, multifactorial model that enhances the traditional evaluation based on the DRUID system. Until now, the DRUID system has classified medicines into broad categories but presents limitations in terms of reproducibility, clinical applicability, and its ability to discriminate between medicines with similar profiles.
To address these limitations, researchers at ITACA have developed the FMB scale. This qualitative tool structures key variables related to driving, including adverse effects, their frequency, dosage, treatment phase, and pharmaceutical form. The aim is to provide clearer and more useful information for both health care professionals and patients. Rather than assigning a single category, the scale combines different factors to generate a continuous index that more accurately reflects risk under real conditions of use.
The results show that the FMB scale reproduces the qualitative classification of the DRUID system while offering greater resolution within each category. This makes it easier to identify relevant differences between medicines and improves assessment in situations close to risk thresholds. Specifically, the findings demonstrate that the scale not only mirrors the DRUID qualitative classification but also identifies significant differences between medicines within the same category and improves evaluation near the boundaries of risk.
Vicente Traver, head of the SABIEN-ITACA group and co-author of the study, explains: "This scale allows us to distinguish more precisely between medicines that, although they share the same category, do not have the same impact on driving. In addition, it transforms complex information into a clear and practical indicator, facilitating clinical decision-making and improving risk communication between health care professionals and patients."
The tool could be integrated into mobile applications, electronic prescribing systems or pharmacy software, helping users make more informed decisions and further enhancing road safety.
Researchers from SABIEN-ITACA UPV emphasize that this work represents a methodological advance in the assessment of pharmacological risk while driving. By incorporating a structured, transparent, and reproducible approach, it can contribute to improved clinical practice and the development of evidence-based road safety strategies.
The research team also wished to pay tribute to Ferran Mocholí, a researcher at the institute who passed away several years ago. His vision and initial proposal were decisive in triggering the origins of this work. "Ferran was a brilliant researcher with a strong commitment to science," they conclude.
