Tassie Budget a win for meds safety

TASMANIA’S $150 million investment in digital health infrastructure, announced in yesterday’s State Budget, is “a win for medicines safety”, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) believes.

The upgrades will allow hospitals, GPs, community health, allied health and specialist care providers to access shared electronic records of patients.

PSA Tasmanian Branch President, David Peachey, said the decision will help pharmacists and other health professionals to deliver improved health outcomes for patients in their care.

“Tasmanian pharmacists are keen to see systems that can centralise patient data across different methods of care and also with My Heath Record, which will improve the care we can provide our communities,” he said.

“This is also a win for medicine safety, as patient’s histories can travel with them.

“We can then ensure that therapy continues or is not duplicated.

“This is particularly important for the patients moving between methods of care who are at most risk of medicine-related harm.”

As part of the State Budget, the Tasmanian Government has committed funding over two years to implement an extended Bedside Medication Management trial across the health system.

Under the trial, pharmacy technicians will take on the technical and administrative process of ordering, administrating and monitoring medications within wards, reducing nurses’ workloads.

While the PSA has broadly welcomed funding announced in the Budget, Peachey noted that it has overlooked a number of key issues facing pharmacists in Tasmania.

“PSA is keen to see action on the Tasmanian Liberals’ 2021 election commitment to review pharmacists’ scope of practice, which still has not been funded in this Budget,” he said.

“We also want to see after-hours pharmacist services expanded so that more Tasmanians can better access the medical advice and expertise of pharmacists, which could also reduce emergency department presentations for non-critical care.

“PSA is committed to working with the Tasmanian Government to support the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians, as well as continuing to advocate for optimal patient care and access to life-saving medications.”