Project to improve medication safety wins the first round of The Pitch for 2025.
 

A project designed to improve medication safety and allow pharmacists to better focus on patient care has been awarded more than $ 47 000 at the first round of The Pitch for 2025 - Sydney Local Health District’s staff innovation challenge. 

The Pitch sees staff pitch their ideas — no matter how big or small — to drive positive changes in services, improve patient care or support the community. 

The Launching electronic accountable drug registers project aims to replace the manual pharmaceutical drug register used by the District’s Pharmacy Departments with an electronic system. 

The new system will allow data to be transferred directly into the register, eliminating handwritten entries and minimising errors. 

“This will free up pharmacists’ time, allowing them to focus on patient care and medication safety,” Diana Bui Byrne, the District’s Pharmacy Systems Manager, said. 

It’s hoped the new system may be further expanded.  

“We’re grateful for the support and excited about the potential of this project. Hopefully, we’ll see it implemented not only in pharmacy but across wards throughout the District,” Ella Leung, RPA’s Senior Pharmacist and Clinical Services Manager, said.  

The District’s Chief Executive Deb Willcox praised the winning project’s focus on improving both staff and patient experiences. 

“Whatever we can do to [for]... our staff so they can focus on their patients is completely worth the investment,” she said. 

The four other finalists have been encouraged to collaborate with other departments in the District to further refine their ideas and explore opportunities for implementation. 

The judging panel for this round of The Pitch included Chief Executive Deb Willcox AM, Executive Director of Operations Dr Genevieve Wallace, Consumer Representative Lyn White, Emergency Physician Professor Michael Dinh and General Manager of Sydney Dental Hospital and Oral Health Services Dr Jason Cheng. 

Since The Pitch began in 2014, the District has received more than 380 entries from more than 50 departments and has awarded more than $2 million in funding to bring innovative ideas to life.