With the support of a strong group of partners and a grant from the European Union, medication safety system MedEye will expand in the UK and long term care markets with project investments totalling €3M. In the UK, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust will serve as a study site and work closely with a research team from the Durham University to measure the impact of MedEye. In long term care, PharmaForce will implement MedEye in facilities in Belgium where it provides medication services and work with users to measure the impact. Results will be published and shared with the wider healthcare community by the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE).
"MedEye’s mission is to eradicate preventable medication errors and this work is a major step in achieving that. We’ve been lucky to find great partners that share this ambition and now, with the strong support from the EU, we can make it happen." says Gauti Reynisson, CEO of Mint Solutions.
UK Market
Across the UK, more hospitals are adopting Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) software. With the NHS's commitment to improving quality, extending medicines management to the bedside is a natural next step.
"Patient safety is our top priority at the Trust and MedEye has the potential to close the loop - to check that the patient receives the correct medicine, the right dose, at the right time all in one go" said Neil Watson, Newcastle's Clinical Director of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation.
"The UK is adopting health IT at a rapid pace but challenges remain. We are excited to lead what we hope is a seminal research programme to study the implementation, impact and value of the system," added Dr Sarah Slight, Reader and Associate Professor in Pharmacy Practice at Durham University.
Long Term Care Market
As more care is provided in-home, the complexity of treatment for patients in long term care facilities has increased. Long term care facilities must find ways to maintain costs while providing quality care.
"Patients in long term care are vulnerable to the effects of medication errors. MedEye provides complete support for treating the residents, complementing the work we do in the pharmacy," said Wim Naessens, Pharmacy Automation and Patient Integration Lead at PharmaForce.
Complete Solution for Medication Safety
MedEye provides nurses and healthcare workers a single place where they can verify all medications – oral solids, injections, compounded and repackaged medication. Administration details are then automatically stored in a patient's medication administration record.
Benefits for hospitals and long term care facilities are a reduction in medication errors, a common workflow for all nurses, and greater flexibility in logistics which can help increase efficiency.
"MedEye can play a major role in reducing the variability across care settings, improving medication safety and reducing adverse drug reactions," said Pascal Garel, Chief Executive of HOPE.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 FTI program under grant agreement No 730731