St Vincent’s Public Hospital on electronic medication management systems

We had the opportunity to speak to Silvia Fazekas, Clinical Information Systems Manager at St Vincent’s Public Hospital prior to the upcoming Electronic Medication Management conference running on the 21 to 22 June 2012 in Melbourne.

Below are the questions we asked:

1. St Vincent’s have been using electronic medication management systems for some time now. Where are you in terms of full roll out across the hospital and what have been some of the key challenges faced?

2. What has the clinician uptake of electronic medication management systems been like at St Vincent’s?

3. Where do you see the future of electronic medication management systems?

Enjoy the interview!

Managing electronic medicine in Australia

The only Electronic Medication Management Summit in Australia will not only discuss the benefits of electronic prescribing and electronic medication management systems in reducing medication errors but also the challenges of implementation in the hospital and aged care setting. Creating the business case for EMM systems, setting specifications for electronic prescribing and best practice models for workflow management in hospitals and aged care facilities will be some of the topics covered on the agenda.

Electronic medication management projects require a strong and committed multi-disciplinary team. All key stakeholders must work together to plan for EMMs implementation. By their very nature these projects take time to be established and thus the challenges of communicating the overall vision, building trust and commitment within the healthcare setting, detailing technology procurement, understanding the demands that electronic medication management systems will make on IT network infrastructures, ensuring effective and safe roll-out, training and support are issues that senior managers and clinical leaders must be aware of.

This event, through both international and Australian key case studies, will aid state health departments, hospitals and aged care facilities looking to introduce electronic medication management systems and electronic prescribing to understand; the functions of such systems and their potential benefits, the motivations for electronic medication management adoption, how to ensure successful implementation, how to structure the planning process, the management of the project as a whole, the impact introduction of electronic medication management systems will have on workflow and efficiency.

The event will be covering these topics below:
• All stages of the implementation process: project initiation, implementation planning, system building and configuration, implementing system, ongoing review and evaluation of system
• Communicating the benefits of electronic prescribing and EMM systems to staff and patients
• Creating the business case for EMM systems
• Setting standards and specifications for electronic prescribing
• The challenges of adopting new technology
• Understanding best practice models for workflow management
• Managing change and gaining staff buy-in
• Examining privacy, security and risk management in relation to EMM systems

If you’d like more information on the conference, please check out the website here.

Preparing for PCEHR: Dr Michelle Austin says to expect enthusiasm

We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Michelle Austin, Change & Adoption Manager for Calvary eHealth and Calvary Health Care ACT. Michelle will be speaking at IIR’s Preparing for PCEHR Conference on the 19th of March in Melbourne. Hear what she had to say.

Questions:
1. Are you able to give us a brief update on what to expect from implementing a PCEHR system into an organisation?

2. How do you ensure the effective communication and engagement between clinicians and other stakeholders during the process?

3. What are the key benefits that your staff and patients will see as a result of the successful implementation of a PCEHR system?

4. You’re speaking at IIR’s Preparing for PCEHR Conference taking place on the 19th March 2012 in Melbourne, what would you like delegates to gain from your presentation?

iPad Apps for the healthcare sector?

This article is taken from mashable.com

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The days are gone when a doctor walked into a patient’s room and grabbed the paper chart at the end of his bed to check his medical history. iPads and tablet computing have revolutionized the way many companies do business, and the medical field is no different. The sharp, intuitive displays and interactive content of tablets naturally make doctor’s visits a more collaborative process.

Currently, a competitive market is emerging for both software and hardware companies. Recently Apple hired a director of medical marketing, so it’s game on in this burgeoning sector. Plus, with $44,000 available in economic stimulus incentives via the HITECH Act, it’s no surprise that doctors are beginning to make the switch to digital.

To read the rest of the article, click here.