8 min.
4.4.2024
New app reduces medicine waste
Text
Karen Gahrn
Photo:
Andreas Bang Kirkegaard
Pharmaconomist Karin Aagot Møller Jørgensen and her colleagues at Aarhus University Hospital had long tried to reduce medicine waste through training and posters, but far too much medicine was still being discarded. An innovation day led to contact with Dias, which eventually developed an app that not only registers medicine but also makes it possible to share excess medicine between departments.
The app, called "Medicinspild" (Medicine Waste), quickly became a game-changer. Where the pharmaconomists previously had to manually record expiration dates on paper, they can now scan a barcode, and the information is registered automatically.
"We have created an integration so that master data is retrieved directly into the pharmacy's purchasing system via the GTIN number", describes Rune Rask, Software Developer at DIAS, Central Denmark Region.
We have created an integration so that master data is retrieved directly into the pharmacy's purchasing system via the GTIN number.
ABOUT 'HRM EXPIRY'
- The app was developed by the Dias team at the Central Denmark Region's IT department in collaboration with the Central Denmark Regional Pharmacy (RAM).
- HRM stands for Hospitalsapoteket Region Midtjylland (Central Denmark Regional Hospital Pharmacy)
- Today, the app is available for all approximately 370 medicine rooms at the five hospital units in the Central Denmark Region, and the plan is to roll it out to other regions – and possibly other areas such as medical equipment.
Faster and more accurate
Registering medicine expiration was previously a time-consuming task that could take up to four hours. With the app, the work is now more than twice as fast, and the risk of errors is minimized. The system marks medicine approaching its expiration date in different colors – red for expiration within a month, yellow for one to three months, and gray for longer shelf life.
A key feature of the app is the ability to "release" medicine. If a department determines that it will not be able to use a package, it can be made available to other departments via the app. Another department can then reserve the medicine, which both reduces waste and saves money. In just 16 months, the hospitals have relocated 5,600 packages of medicine.
Registering medicine expiration was previously a time-consuming task that could take up to four hours. With the app, the work is now more than twice as fast, and the risk of errors is minimized. The system marks medicine approaching its expiration date in different colors – red for expiration within a month, yellow for one to three months, and gray for longer shelf life.
A key feature of the app is the ability to "release" medicine. If a department determines that it will not be able to use a package, it can be made available to other departments via the app. Another department can then reserve the medicine, which both reduces waste and saves money. In just 16 months, the hospitals have relocated 5,600 packages of medicine.
Ready for rollout
The app has attracted attention both internally and externally and has won two digital awards in the Central Denmark Region: the Initiative Award, competing against 50 other projects, and a People's Choice Award for best presentation.
The next step is to roll out 'HRM Udløb' to other regions. The question is whether the solution should be sold as is, allowing the regions to develop it further themselves, or whether a national solution should be developed.
– I am in favor of a national solution because, in the regions, we far too often start from scratch and reinvent the wheel, says Karin Aagot Møller Jørgensen.
At the same time, the developers also see the potential to expand the app to a wide range of other areas, such as medical equipment. With the existing GS1 DataMatrix standard, which already ensures precise data, there is great potential to streamline even more processes at the hospitals.
Ultimately, it is the standard and the data matrix that have made the entire project possible.
– The fact that there is an international standard and a legal requirement that all medication packages must have labeling is the entire foundation for the app, emphasizes Rune Dalsenni Rask.
When Karin Aagot Møller Jørgensen looks back on the entire process today, she is enthusiastic about the collaboration between pharmacy technicians and developers. She describes the process as a perfect balance between technical insight and practical understanding.
– We wanted a kind of Tinder app for medication expiry. It had to be easy and fun, and we just wanted to be able to swipe. What we have today is much better than Tinder.
ABOUT 'HRM UDLØB'
- The app was developed by the Dias team at the Central Denmark Region's IT department in collaboration with the Central Denmark Region Pharmacy (RAM).
- HRM stands for Hospitalsapoteket Region Midtjylland (Central Denmark Region Hospital Pharmacy)
- Today, the app is available for all 370 or so medicine rooms across the five hospital units in the Central Denmark Region, and the plan is to roll it out to other regions—and potentially other areas, such as medical equipment.
