Tasmania’s stockholding of hospital medications has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic.
This is just one of the measures put in place to ensure the health and safety of Tasmanians in preparation for borders reopening on December 15.
Tasmania’s hospitals currently hold $13.4 million worth of medications – an increase from $5.8 million prior to the pandemic.
For the majority of medications, this will allow hospitals to continue to provide acute care, including keeping the State’s ICUs running for two to three months, even if supply chains are interrupted.
As part of the increased medication stockholding, two secured backup facilities have been established, which contain $1.2 million in medications specifically allocated for the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
This backup stockholding is enough to treat 280 concurrent patients, from mild to severe illness, from admission to discharge, and is in addition to the two-to-three-month supply of ICU and hospital medication stockholdings held by the THS.
Further supplies of medications are held with local and interstate wholesalers.
The medication list is reviewed regularly against emerging evidence and national guidelines, and plans are in place to quickly replenish the inventory if required.
Tasmania also holds COVID-19 specific treatments such as remdesivir on behalf of the Australian Government’s National Medicines Stockpile.
The Tasmanian Health Service is also continuing its statewide Home Medication Delivery service free of charge to patients to support social distancing by allowing patients to receive their regular hospital-only medications without attending public hospital premises.
And Tasmania has rolled out the most contemporary statewide implementation of SmartPump wi-fi-connected IV infusion pumps and syringe pumps, representing a significant leap forward for patient safety.
The THS pharmacy project team recently received an Innovation Award for this project by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.
These new smart infusion pumps download medication dosing information over wi-fi from a central database that contains a full library of medications and doses used by the THS.
The SmartPump guides doctors and nurses to calculate, prepare, and administer intravenous medicines safely.
More than 2014 SmartPumps have been installed across the Tasmanian Health Service, replacing its fleet of manually programmed intravenous infusion pumps.
These initiatives are an important part of the health system’s preparedness to reconnect Tasmania, which prioritises the health and safety of Tasmanians.