What is electronic medication management?
Historically, all prescribing, ordering, monitoring, adjusting, dispensing and medicine administration records was done on paper. Paper-based systems can be difficult to keep up-to-date and accurate and are open to human error. Electronic medication management is therefore a digital (or electronic) system through which doctors, pharmacists, nurses and care staff can prescribe, order, monitor, adjust, dispense and record the administration of all medicines digitally.
In Australia, after the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, one of the recommendations was for Aged Care facilities to move away from paper-based medication management and towards electronic medication management.
Having an electronic medication management system for the elderly, especially in aged care homes, allows for better quality, security and efficiency of medication management.
An electronic medication management system can cover the entire medication cycle, from prescribing the medication through the dispensing and reviewing of the prescription by pharmacists, to the medication administration rounds by nurses or care staff.
What are the benefits of electronic medication management?
There are many benefits of using an electronic medication management system in aged care facilities. One of the key benefits is that it can help to improve the safety and quality of care for residents. It does this by providing a more accurate and up-to-date record of a resident’s medicines, which can help to reduce the risk of errors and omissions.
Given the amount of reporting and compliance in the aged care industry, a huge benefit of electronic medication management systems is their ability to provide reporting at the touch of a button. Systems such as Strong Care’s eNRMC (Electronic National Residential Medication Chart) can report on:
- Real-time analytics, data and stock levels
- Quality indicator reporting for compliance
- Benchmarking
- Antimicrobials
- Polypharmacy
- Psychotropics
- Facility and organisation QUM reports
- RMMR reports
In addition, most good electronic medication management systems will be able to integrate with pharmacy dispensing software, point of administration and you aged care facility’s clinical management software.
Another benefit of using an electronic medication management system is that it can help to save time. For example, nurses and care staff can use the system to quickly and easily check what medicines a resident is taking, what the dosage is and when the medicine needs to be taken. This information can then be used to generate medication schedules, which can help to save time and ensure that residents are taking their medicines as prescribed. Strong Care’s eNRMC even features facial recognition software of the resident to ensure the correct medication is given to each resident.
With many good electronic medication management systems, much of the communication between prescribers, aged care staff and the pharmacy is automated, saving even more time and reducing transcribing errors.
eNRMC grant
The Australian government has incentivised Aged Care Facilities to adopt eNRMC products and has made up to $30 million available for facilities who adopt a CPv3.0 Conformant eNRMC product. A full guide to the grant process and how to apply can be found here.
Overall, electronic medication management systems can help to improve the safety and quality of care for residents in aged care facilities.
Strong Care
Strong Care is a market-leading eNRMC developed specially for aged care facilities. It includes all the reporting mentioned above and goes even further, featuring an e-controlled drug register and an intuitive, easy-to-use platform. Strong Care supports your aged care facility with in-person implementation and training by a pharmacist who understands your business and workflows. To book a demo today, email us at strongcare@careteq.com.au