The Australian Government will support residential aged care providers to adopt electronic National Residential Medication Charts (eNRMC).
Through real time medication prescription and administration data, the eNRMC enables aged care staff, prescribers and suppliers:
- to reduce medication errors, and
- gain greater flexibility and coordination.
Benefits of eNRMC
An eNRMC system can benefit residents, providers, workers, prescribers and pharmacists, through:
- Decreasing medication safety risks, such as inconsistencies between prescriber records and paper medication charts, also lessening time spent by suppliers reconciling these differences.
- Increasing visibility of residents’ medication record for prescribers, pharmacists and aged care staff.
- Timely provision of medications.
- Alerts to advise allergies or medication interactions, and reminders of new prescriptions or follow up consultations.
- Reducing administration burden for aged care providers, prescribers and pharmacists.
- Reducing the amount of daily medications taken by an individual (polypharmacy).
Recording medication chart orders
Several vendors are working to develop eNRMC systems which meet technical and legislative requirements. Once these systems are approved, they will be listed on the electronic prescribing conformance register.
All medication chart orders must be supported by either:
- a paper National Residential Medication Chart (NRMC), or
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescription.
However, eNRMC Trial sites already listed under the National Health (Electronic National Residential Medication Chart Trial) Special Arrangement 2018 do not need a paper chart or separate PBS prescription.
What you need to know
Use of eNRMC is not mandatory, however we encourage residential aged care providers to use eNRMC systems to ensure safe and accountable medication management.
Funding will be available to residential aged care providers for the cost of implementing an eNRMC system. Payment will be tiered to support residential aged care facilities in need, such as:
- rural and remote areas, and
- not-for-profit providers.
We will confirm and communicate the payment structure and mechanisms shortly.
We are promoting the use of eNRMC systems in response to recommendations 64 and 68 of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety Final Report.
