ASX-listed aged care provider Regis Group is currently rolling out Bestmed’s electronic National Residential Medication Chart (eNRMC) medication management system across all of its 64 residential aged care facilities.
The roll-out commenced in late October, with all 64 Regis homes to move over to the new system by April 2023.
The implementation has been supported by round one of the Department of Health and Aged Care’s eNRMC adoption grant funding, which is being made available over three rounds to assist providers with adopting a conformant eNRMC solution.
Implementing electronic medication management systems in residential care was one of the major recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Funds to support the national electronic medication management in aged care program were allocated in the 2021-22 federal budget.
Bestmed has achieved the Australian Digital Health Agency’s transitional eNRMC conformant status, along with approvals from both the Western Australian and Tasmanian health departments.
Regis Aged Care CIO Imtiaz Bhayat said the organisation conducted a comprehensive review of software options with its clinical teams. It chose Bestmed partly because it had been involved in the eNRMC trial and had been used in aged care for several years. It also had an intuitive interface and was easy to integrate, he said.
“That really showed when we tested the product in a small pilot and it was clear that they knew the medication process well, together with the nuances of day-to-day medication administration and ordering, Mr Bhayat said.
He said Bestmed had also spent time at each facility to deliver training.
Bestmed allows prescribers to chart medicines and review medication management remotely using embedded clinical decision support capabilities. It has a Bestdoctor module for real-time access to resident data at any time, with instant electronic charting.
There is also a Bestpack module that automates pharmacy operations through the fulfilment of ePrescriptions and medication supply.
