Artificial intelligence to predict drug side effects

People who need medication rarely take just one pill. Many of those who have been prescribed medications for health reasons take upwards of five medications per day. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of persons using at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days, in the U.S., is 48.9 percent; and the percentage of people using three or more prescription drugs ('polypharmacy') in the past 30 days stands at 23.1 percent; whereas those using five or more prescription drugs in the past 30 days is 11.9 percent. The figures for the U.S. will mirror those of many other high-income countries. From the ubiquitous aspirin to the most sophisticated prescription medicine on the market, all medications come with side effects.