We are proud to announce that emma - Compact’s eNRMC software, is one of the the first Transitional eNRMC Conformant systems in Australia.
The Government announced the Supporting Medication Management in Residential Aged Care Initiative as part of the Residential Aged Care Quality and Safety - Improving Access to Primary Care and other Health Services 2021-22 Budget measure.
The Government has provided funding of $45.4 million over four financial years from 2021-22 to 2024-25 for implementation of the initiative. Under the initiative, up to $30 million (GST Exclusive) has been made available via a grant opportunity to incentivise the adoption of Transitional or CPv3.0 Conformant eNRMC Products in RACSs.
Information regarding eNRMC from the Australian Government
Electronic National Residential Medication Chart (eNRMC)
eNRMC products can be used in residential aged care services, as well as National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care and Multi-Purpose Services that provide residential aged care.
They enable health practitioners to prescribe all PBS and RPBS medicines electronically without the need for a paper chart or separate prescription (apart from Section 100 medicines, which still require a prescription).
Compared with the paper chart, eNRMC products make medication management even easier, through:
automated alerts and reminders of allergies, medication interactions, prescription due dates and follow-up consultation due dates
a quicker and easier way for prescribers, suppliers and staff to understand a patient’s medication history and needs
stronger privacy security for patients
better and faster reporting and auditing ability.
We are supporting the rollout of eNRMC products in response to recommendation 68 of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety final report.
We have been trialling eNRMC products in residential aged care sites, and are working with software vendors to make them available nationally.
Status of eNRMC rollout
Several software vendors are developing eNRMC products that meet:
legislative requirements for electronic prescribing
PBS information requirements for medication charts
electronic prescribing technical conformance requirements.
Once approved, these systems will be listed on the Australian Digital Health Agency’s electronic prescribing conformance register.
We expect conformant eNRMC products to be available at the end of 2022. In the meantime, all residential aged care providers will have the option to adopt transitional eNRMC products from 1 July 2022 under the special arrangement legislation.
For their product to be approved for use under the transitional arrangement, vendors must provide the Australian Digital Health Agency with evidence that it meets conformance requirements.
A transitional eNRMC product can be used for legal PBS and RPBS electronic medication chart prescribing, dispensing and administration purposes. But it must not send prescription information to a prescription delivery service.
While not mandatory, we encourage you to adopt these systems, which can significantly reduce administrative burden and increase patient safety.