Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) has begun work on the next stage of its massive digital hospital roll-out, with planning under way for the implementation of electronic medications management and the replacement of its anaesthesia system early next year along with an intention to apply for HIMSS level 6 certification.

Nicknamed MARS – for Medications Management, Anaesthetics & Research Support – the roll-out is planned to go live next January, marking a crucial stage in the hospital's move from predominantly paper to fully digital in just a few years.

Last November, the PAH became the first large-scale hospital in Australia to go digital, implementing what is known in Queensland as the “digital stack”, a set of components that includes an upgrade to the Cerner-based integrated electronic medical record (ieMR) and full integration of medical devices, with MARS to come next and in the future the implementation of Cerner's mobility suite.