Medicines, digital health and clinical safety: making sure technology supports clinicians to provide safe care to consumers Medicines are the most common treatment New technologies offer a promising avenue benefits of digital health must be balanced. used in health care and contribute to for improving medication safety. The role of The introduction of these systems needs to significant improvements in health when digital health in this regard will be be accompanied by measures that ensure used appropriately. fundamental. they are safe and are used in a way that However, medicine use can also be protects patients. Steps being taken by the associated with harm, and the high use of There are clear benefits to implementing Commission to contribute to the safe use of medicines means they are associated with digital health systems that could reduce digital health systems are discussed below. more errors and adverse events than any errors. For example, an electronic Safety issues with the use of other aspect of health care. medication management (EMM) system digital health While rates of serious harm are low, errors can help reduce the frequency of do affect health outcomes for people and medication-associated hospital admissions Clinical safety needs to be built into the increase healthcare costs. For example, by: planning and development phases of any medication related hospital admissions in system rollout if risks to patients are to be Australia account for about 2% to 3% of all improving the legibility of medication minimised. For example, hardware, admissions.7 information8 software and the networks underpinning providing warnings to prescribers digital health systems must be robust and The prevalence of medication errors is of regarding adverse reactions with must recover quickly from breakdowns and particular concern because most of these existing conditions or other medications failures with minimal impact. errors are preventable. the patient is taking. Digital health systems also need to be In order to improve the safety and quality of In addition, the increasing utilisation of the usable by and intuitive for clinicians. For medicine use, we need to know how My Health Record system is also likely to example, a poorly designed interface might adverse medication events occur and how help reduce medication errors and improve not display important clinical information in they can be prevented. This is true both at health outcomes. a manner that a clinician would expect, the level of individual practice and within leading to an incorrect interpretation of systems for managing medicines. However, the rapid uptake and use of patient data. digital health systems can also cause new risks to clinical safety.9 The risks and the
Medicines, digital health and clinical safety: making sure technology supports clinicians to provide safe care to consumers Medicines are the most common treatment used in health care and contribute to significant improvements in health when used appropriately. However, medicine use can also be associated with harm, and the high use of medicines means they are associated with more errors and adverse events than any other aspect of health care. While rates of serious harm are low, errors do affect health outcomes for people and increase healthcare costs. For example, medication related hospital admissions in Australia account for about 2% to 3% of all admissions.7 The prevalence of medication errors is of particular concern because most of these errors are preventable. In order to improve the safety and quality of medicine use, we need to know how adverse medication events occur and how they can be prevented. This is true both at the level of individual practice and within systems for managing medicines. New technologies offer a promising avenue for improving medication safety. The role of digital health in this regard will be fundamental. There are clear benefits to implementing digital health systems that could reduce errors. For example, an electronic medication management (EMM) system can help reduce the frequency of medication-associated hospital admissions by: improving the legibility of medication information8 providing warnings to prescribers regarding adverse reactions with existing conditions or other medications the patient is taking. In addition, the increasing utilisation of the My Health Record system is also likely to help reduce medication errors and improve health outcomes. However, the rapid uptake and use of digital health systems can also cause new risks to clinical safety.9 The risks and the benefits of digital health must be balanced. The introduction of these systems needs to be accompanied by measures that ensure they are safe and are used in a way that protects patients. Steps being taken by the Commission to contribute to the safe use of digital health systems are discussed below. Safety issues with the use of digital health Clinical safety needs to be built into the planning and development phases of any system rollout if risks to patients are to be minimised. For example, hardware, software and the networks underpinning digital health systems must be robust and must recover quickly from breakdowns and failures with minimal impact. Digital health systems also need to be usable by and intuitive for clinicians. For example, a poorly designed interface might not display important clinical information in a manner that a clinician would expect, leading to an incorrect interpretation of patient data.
Vital-Signs-2016-WORD.docx