Pharmacists at the 2019 NACCHO Members' Conference[/caption]
Yvette McGrath and Kate Gill[/caption]
Pharmacist Emily Waddell sharing her expertise on antimicrobial stewardship in primary care settings during a panel discussion[/caption]
Pene Wood MPS presenting in the medicines stream[/caption]
It’s been a year since a pharmacist-led team from the University of Sydney took out the 2018 Pharmacy Shark Tank competition with their SetDose concept: a dose-metering device and system to reduce medicine errors. The $10,000 prize money helped the team continue to develop the system, and after some initial re-designs, this year they filed a provisional patent for their two lead SetDose prototypes.
‘Two of us have also completed a commercialisation training program in medical devices through Cicada Innovations, and we’ve been refining one prototype in particular and doing some very early user testing,’ said Associate Professor Rebekah Moles FPA (pictured), a PSA NSW Branch Committee volunteer.
The SetDose system uses a syringe attachment and encoded punch cards to ensure patients only receive correct doses of their medicine. A/Prof Moles said the Pharmacy Shark Tank funding went towards a laser cutter that helped with accurately fabricating parts, including the encoded cards.
‘We’ve done further testing with different liquid viscosities, and [SetDose] seems to be quite accurate. The punch cards accurately control the volume, no matter the viscosity of the fluid being drawn up into the syringe,’ she said.
The initial concept focused on hospital-based paediatric medicine, where highly accurate dosing is essential. But after extensive consultation with hospital-based clinicians and stakeholders, A/Prof Moles said the focus is now on aged care and community settings to launch SetDose. More investment – probably another $100,000 – for a design company to create models and produce the first run of the devices for further testing was needed. Joint industry-government grants might be possible, A/Prof Moles said.
The successful Life Cardiac Clinic at Cooleman Court Pharmacy in the ACT took out this year’s People’s Choice Award, receiving $1000 for its service that provides community follow-up and advice for patients who’ve suffered a cardiovascular event.
‘We make sure they’re aware of their condition, their medicines, and also check in with how they’re doing, how they’re going with rehab, checking with their GP to make sure they’ve got their management plan set up,’ said Brooke Veasey MPS, one of the key pharmacists behind the program.
Cooleman Court Pharmacy owner Brad Butt MPS encouraged Ms Veasey to develop her idea for the clinic, which started seeing clients in April. A stroke or heart attack can mean substantial life changes, not to mention multiple new medicines, and while cardiovascular patients receive considerable support after a cardiovascular event, Ms Veasey said many felt lost after their initial six weeks of rehabilitation and didn’t know where to turn. ‘So, we’re trying to be there to try and catch them so that they don’t fall,’ she said.
The team has had positive feedback on the clinic and plans to use the prize money to train staff ready to launch the program at a second location. ‘One of the things that I did, which really opened my eyes, was the ambassador program from the Heart Foundation, so we’re trying to get more staff going through that,’ she said.
Luke Vrankovich MPS[/caption]
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