BESTMED welcomes the focus on medication management

BESTMED welcomes the Department of Health and Aged Care’s recent updates to the national guiding principles for medication management for residential aged care facilities, in the community, and supporting the continuity of care at transition points.

“As we age, our medication needs increase, making medication safety increasingly important,” said BESTMED CEO, Phil Offer.

“The focus on medication safety for ageing Australians as they move from residential aged care facilities, community, and hospital, is vital in ensuring a smooth transition and reducing the risk of medication incidents,” said Mr Offer.

The guiding principles for medication management in residential aged care were last updated in February 2020, and since then there have been substantial changes to medication management including the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the roll-out of the Transitional Electronic National Residential Medication Chart (eNRMC) and available grant funding.

“We have seen significant steps taken in improving medication management in residential aged care, and these documents highlight the importance of a connected healthcare system to ensure continuity of care,” said Mr Offer.

“We know that these transition points are of particular concern in regard to the timely and accurate handover of medication notes and supply of medication.

“We have seen the department take large steps in improving the safety of medication management and coupled with the rise of integrations through Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to improve interoperability between systems, medication continuity for consumers as they move through care is greatly improving.”