Safe drugs management now available in UK

Paramedics today have more advanced training and greater responsibilities than ever before, including the transportation and administration of controlled drugs under high-pressure conditions.

In December 2023 a landmark decision was made to allow British paramedic independent prescribers to prescribe, administer, and direct others to administer, stronger classified drugs than ever before, including morphine sulphate.

While such access to controlled drugs means paramedics can deliver best-in-class care to their patients without delay, it also places more pressure on them to ensure safe storage, administration, management and reporting.

Technological advances now mean paper records can be a thing of the past – a real-time, electronic controlled-drugs management system can empower and protect both paramedics and ambulance services alike.

That’s why Ortivus is excited to bring HealthCare Software ’s Controlled Drugs Management (CDM) solution to UK paramedics for the first time. Safe and efficient drug management is only a click away for ambulance services in the UK now that CDM is available on the UK government’s digital marketplace – G-Cloud.

Ortivus’ long experience and knowledge of the UK market and expertise in integration of electronic patient records and other software means UK organisations can be confident that HealthCare Software’s CDM solution will work seamlessly with existing infrastructure.

End-to-end management

CDM is designed to deliver complete management of controlled drugs across?ambulance services of any size. It includes full end-to-end controlled drug management and reporting, incident management, and issue escalation.

The solution provides a comprehensive suite of automated processes, functions and integrations to seamlessly manage and report on medication-related distribution and administrative activities.

CDM is deployed as a software as a service solution for access at any time through the browser of any device. It is highly scalable, enables government and regulatory compliance, and meets the needs of both organisations and individual users.

Benefits of the CDM solution include:

Safety

• Safer and more efficient management of controlled drugs
• Reduced errors from misinterpretation of handwritten records
• System-guided activity documentation to improve staff efficiency and reduce errors
• Active monitoring for early intervention in the misuse or theft of controlled drugs
• Peace of mind for paramedics as tracking delivers clarity around controlled drug management

Clinical

• Less time managing paper records – more time for patients
• Removes the need for handling, storing and accessing physical records
• Authority approval of electronic registers delivers governance and regulatory compliance
• Delivers managers instant audit reporting with remote access to all site, vehicle and individual records
• Effective detection, documentation and resolution of issues
• Efficient?assignment of controlled drug use to the patient record
• Improved supply-chain management

Technology & security

• Cloud-based; designed and built for the Microsoft Azure platform
• Designed and deployed for proven high availability
• Data secured in transit and at rest
• HIPAA-certified software with annual recertification
• Standards-based integration capability that supports: FHIR-based integration to allow for paramedics to use their existing devices and sign off controlled drug movement in CDM; Azure Active Directory integration for authentication, including multifactor authentication; Roster integration for presenting staff the most appropriate information for their current shift; Reporting integration to enable advanced analytics and contribute to a data warehouse

CASE

In late 2023, Ambulance Tasmania in Australia completed the first phase implementation of CDM software for all paramedics across Tasmania.

The goal of the project rollout was to provide robust and audited management of controlled medications across the ambulance service, replacing manual paper-based processes, and enabling paramedics to increase time on patient care.

The HealthCare Software team worked with Ambulance Tasmania to review its medication management administration processes and objectives, and delivered the configured solution that has now brought faster, accurate medication recording and reporting to the organisation. The CDM solution was configured with the Statewide Pharmacist and paramedics to make it easy to use and consistent with their work processes and requirements.

Phased approach

A phased approach to implementation for each region enabled an initial "pilot approach" to be undertaken, with practical and minor improvements to systems and processes made for future regions.

Benefits so far include:

• Easy and accurate recording
• Increased access to controlled medication information for paramedics and managers
• Unlimited and instant automated reporting is now possible
• Increased compliance with legislation and improved accuracy and reliability of medication management registers
• Cost savings
• Staff satisfaction

Dr Tim Makrides, Executive Director of Clinical Information Services at Ambulance Tasmania, said: “This improved capacity by Ambulance Tasmania personnel to manage and monitor stock of specified medications, will reduce personnel costs, enable more hours to be delivered to patient care and reduce medication waste.”

Jordan Emery, Chief Executive Officer at Ambulance Tasmania said: “Executive and paramedic confidence in medication management records and reporting has greatly improved. The CDM allows for recording of medication administration closer to the actual activity and, in conjunction with compliance checks and audits, ensures that medication stock levels are accurately reflected.”

Safe drug management a step closer in UK

The CDM solution’s recent inclusion on the UK Government’s digital marketplace, G-Cloud, alongside Ortivus’ MobiMed ePR solution, means safe management of drugs is a step closer for UK ambulances.

With CDM available on the G-Cloud online procurement framework, ambulance services can now access the solution faster, cheaper, and more efficiently.

Improve your medication management rating

CDM is approved for use in the UK and delivers the control required by ambulance services in England to improve their medication management rating under Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards and inspections. This capability extends to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland by assisting services to meet the standards of their respective accreditation bodies.

In addition, HealthCare Software’s completion of the NHS Clinical Risk Management framework, DCB0129, assures NHS ambulance trusts of the solution’s low-risk status. HealthCare Software's DCB0129 document pack is available to services on?request.

For more information on how CDM can help your ambulance service, please contact Elias Obaid at [email protected]