Taranaki is leading a medication safety revolution which is being watched with interest by the rest of the medical world.
At Taranaki Base Hospital, a trial aimed at saving lives and
reducing drug prescribing errors through the development of
leading-edge electronic medication and prescribing is well under way.
Once complete, and the hospital system is also electronically
connected with community doctors and pharmacies, all patients will have
a yellow card and an electronic medication history with all the
medication they are on.
Each time a patient goes to a health practitioner, whether it be a
dietician or a consultant, their medication history will be upgraded.
Three other district health boards throughout the country are also
involved in separate hospital pilots, called Go for Gold, but Taranaki
has taken on the lot.
"We are doing the electronic prescribing, electronic pharmacy
dispensing, the Pyxsis machine and the electronic medication
reconciliation system," Taranaki DHB director of medication management
Elizabeth Plant said.
Ms Plant and Dr Campbell White were invited to speak about the New
Zealand project at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in
Healthcare in Paris in April.
"They wanted to hear from us because what we are doing here is so internationally significantly.
"What's earth-shattering is that Taranaki is leading the world."
The Go for Gold programme is jointly sponsored by the Health
Quality and Safety Commission and the National Health Board's IT Board,
of which both Ms Plant and Taranaki DHB chief executive Tony Foulkes
are members.the earliest teaser photos of the Clip Mp3 players
have been of an all-white kid's size shoe that still featured the LBJ23 logo
The programme aims to achieve gold level medication management by
the end of 2014 when all public hospitals are expected to have the
electronic medicines management programme operational.The 8gb mp3 player
comes in various sizes and colors. Therefore, every runner has a
fitting size and a choice of the favorite color. When you purchase this
shoe
Mr Foulkes said the trial was part of a national programme to improve patient safety.
"I think it is fantastic that Taranaki clinicians working with
their colleagues from other DHBs can be part of shaping improvements
for the country.
"If new technology can help clinicians working together to help patients, then we want to be up there leading the changes.
Ms Plant said the Otago DHB had achieved the first e-prescribing
pilot and Taranaki was pulling the pieces together and doing the fully
integrated hospital project.