THE Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) is today launching a trial in Box Hill, Victoria, to improve medicine safety for patients transitioning from hospital to community pharmacy.
The 12 month pilot is being managed by Eastern Health in partnership with Monash University.
DC MedsRec is a community pharmacy-based service for patients discharged from Box Hill Hospital with four or more medicines, aiming to reduce the risk of harm from dangerous drug interactions.
"Community pharmacies from the Eastern Health area will take part in the pilot, with up to 5,000 patients potentially involved," said Eastern Health Chief Executive Adjunct Professor David Plunkett.
Eligible patients will meet with a trained community pharmacist, who will look at their hospital discharge summary via My Health Record, along with a range of other medication information.
The pharmacist will then check the patient's understanding of the drugs they are taking, resolve any potential medicine safety problems and ensure any medication-related recommendations from hospital are followed up.
The pharmacist will also offer to dispose of any discontinued medications and prescriptions for the patient, with their consent.
ADHA CEO Tim Kelsey said the service was part of a $8.5 million program trialling innovative new approaches in post-hospital support, palliative care and the management of chronic health conditions, using digital technology to support better health outcomes.
"Pharmacists involved in the Box Hill project will be able to access their patients' hospital discharge summaries quickly and easily using My Health Record," Kelsey said.
"The ultimate aim is to ensure patients with complicated medication regimens don't end up back in hospital after taking a bad combination of medicines."
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