MONTREAL – Telus Health is partnering with Quebec start-up Groupe DOmedic Inc. on digital health technology designed to improve medication management for seniors in long-term nursing care facilities.
To date, most nurses and healthcare professionals working in senior residences rely on paper to record the dispensing of medication to patients, which can result in errors and also lack tracing mechanisms. Electronic solutions such as DOmedic’s xPill PHARMA, when connected by Telus Health to pharmacists through their pharmacy management solution, allow a continuous, real-time flow of information between the staff caring for the elderly patients and the pharmacist. Care teams can access information recorded in the patient’s file, such as recommendations from the pharmacist and comments from each care giver, thereby helping to ensure that the medication is being administered properly for its optimal effectiveness. The possibility for real-time access also enables pharmacists to view patients’ file comments from the care team and refill requests.
Noting that two-thirds of seniors in nursing care take at least 10 prescription drugs, technological solutions that support safer and more efficient medication management are critical to ensuring the wellbeing and safety of patients in elderly care facilities, said Telus Health.
‘‘Medication management is a key area of healthcare that can be rife with issues, which health information technology can help resolve,” said Telus Health president Paul Lepage, in the news release. “By investing in innovative health start-ups like DOmedic, Telus Health is optimizing medication management, promoting better collaboration between members of a senior’s care team and their pharmacists, and overall, delivering improved patient outcomes.’’
‘‘DOmedic and Telus Health now offer a powerful integrated medication management platform that will enable retirement homes and Canadian pharmacists an optimized administering and dispensing medication cycle in compliance with traceability requirements,” added Groupe DOmedic president Benoît Demers. “xPill PHARMA provides patients, their families and the care teams administering the medication with peace of mind that they are receiving the correct medication, in the correct dosage, at the correct time, and administered in the correct way.’’
