• Medication Safety & Efficiency Conference

    Utilising digital health systems to improve medication safety and efficiency
    2-3 April 2025
    Hilton Sydney

    REGISTER INTEREST BOOK NOW

Overview

The Medication Safety and Efficiency Conference will return to the Hilton Sydney on April 2-3, 2025.

For the past 14 years, this event has served as a vital platform for key decision-makers and executives to explore advancements in EMRs, digital health, medication safety, AI, eMeds, electronic prescribing, and eHealth records across Australia’s healthcare landscape.

As the digital health sector continues to evolve, keeping pace with the latest developments can be challenging. What innovations are essential, and which should we reconsider in our practices? What were the road-bumps to getting here? And how could we implement this into our site?

The upcoming agenda will delve into these topics, covering everything from prescribing dispensing practices in both private and public settings. Innovative solutions in community administration in primary, tertiary, and aged care. Participants can expect insights into specific medication errors and how healthcare organizations are leveraging various digital health systems to mitigate these issues. We’ll also explore the future trajectory of eMedication in EMRs within Australia.

Join pharmacists and prescribers, allied health professionals, government representatives and software providers from across the country as we address questions from a diverse and engaged audience. This is an opportunity to connect, network, and reflect on the dynamic landscape of our industry.

The Medication Safety & Efficiency Conference is a focused event where you can engage with peers and ensure your pressing questions are answered!

Topics to be addressed:

  • De-mystifying Private Health: Achieving Levels of Safety & Balancing Resources
  • Building Workforce Legacy: How can we Support Clinicans and Their Time?
  • Innovative Solutions for Efficient Medication Management
  • Beyond the Gap: Continuity of Medicines Management for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
  • Understanding New Errors, Incidents and Usability
  • Debunking Transitions of Care: Where Should Our Focuses Lie?
  • Nursing Workflows and Clinical Incidents
  • Overcoming Connectivity and Managing Multiple Systems in Clinical Trial Pharmacy
  • Digital Tools Used to Connect Hospital with Aged Care
  • Case Studies
  • Overcoming Medication Safety and Efficiency from Coast to Bush
  • From Data to Wisdom: The Role of Nursing Informatics Leadership in Digital Meds Management
  • Transferring Big EMRs to Other/Smaller Facilities: What Does This Mean for Rollouts?
  • Improving Patient Identification to Reduce Errors
  • Advancing Patient Safety and the Continuity of Care within Paediatrics
  • Upgrading EMRs: Clinical Paint Points
  • Adoption of AI into the Hospital

 

Connect Virtual Care
The event will take place as part of 2025’s CONNECT VIRTUAL CARE event. We’re bringing together three related, but distinct events which will be co-located at the Hilton Sydney. One pass gives access to all three conferences.

Sponsors

2025 Speakers


Dr Angus Ritchie
Clinical Director, SDPR Program, Sydney LHD, Clinical Associate Professor, Sydney Medical School, Senior Staff Specialist Nephrologist, Concord Repatriation General Hospital


Michael Bakker
Chief Pharmacy Information Officer, SA Pharmacy, SA Health


Professor Mel Baysari
Professor of Health Research, The University of Sydney


Melissa Fodera
Clinical Excellence Lead (Standard 4 Medication Safety), Austin Health


Geeta Sandhu
Deputy Director of Clinical Trials, St Vincent’s Sydney Public Hospital


Michael Quach
Chief Pharmacist, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District


Kate Renzenbrink
Digital Health Adviser, Australian Digital Health Agency, Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital


Brett Chambers
Director of Virtual Pharmacy, Western NSW LHD


Jillian Campbell
Lead Subject Matter Expert, VMM ePrescribing Project, Virtual Care, Program Delivery, eHealth NSW


Kendra Hagedorn
Chief Nursing Information Officer, Ramsay Health Care


Mike Stephens
Director, Medicines Policy & Programs, NACCHO


Cheyne Sullivan
Aboriginal Health Lead, SA Pharmacy, SA Health


Alicia Simpson
Chief Pharmacy and Psychology Information Officer, Ramsay Health Care


Daisy Lu
Clinical Operations Manager and Clinical Pharmacist, Eucalyptus


Brenton Jones
Senior Digital Health Officer, Western NSW PHN


Jo Hunter
Assistant Deputy Director of Pharmacy – Informatics, Supply Chain, Monash Health


Michelle Dobie
Principal Advisor Digital Health Systems & Projects, Royal Flying Doctor Service (SA/NT)


Mohanrao Ramarao
Senior Pharmacist,
Alfred Health


Peter Guthery
Senior Pharmacist – Strategic Policy,
PSA


Daniel Trajkov
Chief Pharmacy Information Officer, South Eastern Sydney LHD, Senior Program Manager, UnitingCare Queensland

AGENDA

08:30

Registration & Morning Coffee

09:00

DAY ONE OPENING

09:05

Opening remarks from the Chair

Bishma Jayathilaka, Chief Pharmacy Information Officer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

09:10

OPENING ADDRESS | A Local Journey of Medication Safety and Business Efficiency at CHW

  • Contemporary issues with the delivery of medication management systems
  • Importance of system integration where appropriate
  • Future requirements to enable BCMA in Australia
  • The need for a patient focus rather than the healthcare setting to enrich the digital medical record.

Peter Barclay, Director of Pharmacy, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network

09:40

CASE STUDY | Exploring Barcode Scanning Medication Administration in the Australian Context

  • The unique challenges and successes of implementing barcode scanning medication administration (BCMA) in Australianhealthcare settings
  • Share successes and discuss the hurdles faced with use of BCMA in the Parkville hospital precinct in Melbourne
  • Discuss the legal and regulatory implications of current Therapeutics Goods Australia standards and practical impact on patient safety and care quality

Bishma Jayathilaka, Chief Pharmacy Information Officer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Youseph Dib, QUM Pharmacist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

10:10

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | Are DDI alerts effective (final trial results) and how do you select and design your CDS moving forward?

Professor Mel Baysari, Professor of Human Factors, The University of Sydney
Selvana Awad, Senior Manager, Design Safety, Clinical Engagement & Patient Safety, eHealth NSW

10:50

Networking Break & Morning Tea

11:20

ADDRESS | Administering Psychedelic Treatments in Australia

Dr Ted Cassidy, Psychiatrist and Founder, Monarch Mental Health Group

11:50

CASE STUDY | Litigation at the pointy end of medication errors

 Justine Anderson, Senior Associate, Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers

12:20

PANEL | Practical and legal implications to virtual clinical pharmacy / telepharmacy

  • Paper & digital innovations
  • What happens if the patient and client are in different states?
  • Legal implications for cross/boarder prescribing

Nikki Reynolds, Lead Pharmacist – Command Centre, WA Country Health Service
Lyndon Goddard, Senior Legal Counsel & Head of Public Policy, Eucalyptus
Dr Jonathan Penm, Senior Lecturer – School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney
Deborah Hawthorne, Clinical Pharmacist, Beyond Pain, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, University Western Australia, and Consultant Pharmacist of the Year 2023
Moderated by Bishma Jayathilaka, Chief Pharmacy Information Officer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

13:00

Networking Lunch

14:00

The Algorithm will see you now

In this session, Assoc. Prof. Sullivan will explore the various digital health initiatives that are currently being explored at the Queensland Digital Health Centre as well as the challenges and opportunities of implementing these digital health solutions. We are aware of the benefits they offer to patients and healthcare providers but there are other important considerations such as engaging stakeholders in digital health change processes and the critical role of leadership in driving change. Assoc. Prof. Sullivan will provide insights into the future of digital health in Queensland, and potentially the entirety of Australia; including how emerging technologies such as synthetic data and federated learning can be utilised to enhance healthcare delivery and achieve the quadruple aim of healthcare.

Director, Queensland Digital Health Centre, The University of Queensland, Clinical Informatics Director – Research, Digital Metro North, Senior Staff Specialist, Endocrinology, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital

14:30

EMR alert and notifications design using the MINDSPACE framework: understanding of human behaviour to influence actions

Clinical decision support (CDS) alerts and reminders aim to influence clinical decisions, yet they are often designed without considering human decision-making behaviour. While this behaviour is comprehensively described by behavioural economics (BE), the sheer volume of BE literature poses a challenge to designers when identifying behavioural concepts with utility to alert and reminder designs. This presentation tackles this challenge by focusing on a BE-grounded framework – namely, the MINDSPACE framework for behaviour change – and discussing its merits for designing CDS alerts and reminders with human decision-making considerations.

Kate Renzenbrink, Digital Health Nurse & Digital Health Adviser, Australian Digital Health Agency
Sarang Hashemi, PhD Candidate, Monash University

14:45

PANEL | Where will eMR design go next? Need or desire

Kate Renzenbrink, Digital Health Nurse & Digital Health Adviser, Australian Digital Health Agency
Karen Chin, Senior Pharmacist – Pharmacy Digital Health, Alfred Health
Louis Cheung, eMM Team Lead, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
Moderated by Dr Jonathan Penm, Senior Lecturer – School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney

15:30

Afternoon Networking Tea

16:00

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | FHIR Standards and what this will mean for prescribers

Simon Cleverley, Assistant Secretary, Digital Health Branch, Department of Health

16:30

CLOSING PANEL | Working together to close the digital loop of medication management: strategies to facilitate medication continuity

This session will bring together a multidisciplinary panel of primary care, residential aged care, and other non-hospital environments discussing the importance of medication safety, improving efficiency through multiple systems (paper-to-digital / digital-to-digital), RMMR, all whilst improving efficiency.

Julian Soriano, Clinical Analyst, SA Pharmacy, Embedded Aged Care Pharmacist, Tanunda Lutheran Home
Dr Penny Webster, Staff Specialist in Geriatric Medicine, Hunter New England LHD
Martina Francis, Medication Management Team Leader, SESLHD, Research Clinician (B.Pharm, Ph.D.), The University of Sydney
Dr Amanda Cross, Aged Care Pharmacist, Monash University
Moderated by Deborah Hawthorne, Clinical Pharmacist, Beyond Pain, Adjunct Senior Lecturer University, Western Australia, and Consultant Pharmacist of the Year 2023

17:15

Closing remarks from the Chair

17:20

Networking Drinks

18:00

DAY 1 CONCLUDES

08:30

Registration & Morning Coffee

09:00

DAY TWO OPENING

09:05

Opening remarks from the Chair

Deborah Hawthorne, Clinical Pharmacist, Beyond Pain, Adjunct Senior Lecturer University, Western Australia, and Consultant Pharmacist of the Year 2023

09:10

ROUNDTABLE | Doctor, I have a Problem with my Digital Health System

This session will include a series of short presentations by each state & territory representation leading into on-stage audience Q&A. The session will then breakout to more intimate roundtables hosted by a range representatives from each state & territory. These roundtables offer the opportunity for a deeper dive discussion with the state representative who can talk you through the various pain points, specific medication errors and how healthcare organisation have taken action to reduce them.

This session will bring together multiple states & territory’s all of which at different levels of digital health deployment. Enabling members of the digital health sphere to arm themselves with learnings & insights to make informed decisions within their setting.

State & Territory Representatives
Nikki Reynolds, Lead Pharmacist – Command Centre, WA Country Health Service
Olimpia Nigro, SA Health Electronic Medical Record Project – Pharmacy Lead, Implementation and Business Change, SA Health
Dan McKavanagh, Director Clinical Informatics, Queensland Health
Selvana Awad, Senior Manager, Design Safety, Clinical Engagement & Patient Safety, eHealth NSW
Jeremy Tehan, Senior Pharmacist – Pharmacy Digital Health, Alfred Health
Elise Griffiths, Director, Lead Analyst for Pharmacy and Medications, ACT Health
Moderated by Deborah Hawthorne, Clinical Pharmacist, Beyond Pain, Adjunct Senior Lecturer University, Western Australia, and Consultant Pharmacist of the Year 2023

10:40

Networking Break & Morning Tea

11:10

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | ADHA Update – National Electronic Prescribing Survey findings, recommendations & next steps

Vicki Ibrahim, Director, Medicines Safety Program, ADHA

11:45

National Medicines Policy: where now?

There has been a drive towards long-term activation of digital health as an enabler of medicine safety, but large system changes needed, such as pharmacovigilance systems and effective error reporting systems in primary care, have not yet been supported

Peter Guthery, Senior Pharmacist – Strategic Policy, PSA

12:15

Preventable medication errors in emergency department

Dr Andrew Walby, Director of Medical Services, Portland District Health, Emergency Physician, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne

12:45

Networking Lunch

13:45

CASE STUDY | Designing Custom Solutions with the Consumer in Mind in the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department

  • Utilising the consumer voice to prevent future medication errors
  • Pharmacists involved in multidisciplinary models of care
  • Multidisciplinary decision support & prescribing considerations in all areas of practice

Alexandra Brown, Clinical Pharmacist, Victorian Virtual Emergency Department, Northern Health

14:15

Pathing the way for Future Pharmacists

  • Learnings from co-building Australia’s first VAD statewide pharmacy service
  • Improving pharmacy workplace culture for current and future pharmacist

Emily Griffin, Early Career Pharmacist of the Year Victoria

14:45

CLOSING ADDRESS | Medication Safety is Everyone’s Business

Helender Singh, Pharmacist, Medication Safety and Quality Improvement, Logan and Beaudesert Hospital, Metro South Health

15:30

Closing remarks from the Chair

15:25

CONFERENCE CONCLUDES

BOOK A PASS

STANDARD PASS

REGISTER NOW

  • Access to full two day conference
  • On-demand recordings
  • Networking drinks reception
  • Pre-book meetings with event app
  • Searchable attendee list
  • App messaging function
  • Live interactive Q&A & audience polls
  • Dedicated networking opportunities
  • BONUS post-event video content including speaker interviews
  • Access discounted hotel rate

VIRTUAL PASS

REGISTER NOW

  • Access to full two- day conference online
  • On-demand recordings
  • Searchable attendee list
  • App messaging function
  • Q&A through event app

  • Workshop pass: $495 + GST
  • Dinner ticket (single): $150 + GST
Packages Full Rate
2 Day Conference – Standard Pass $2,695 + GST
2 Day Conference – Healthcare Professional Pass $1,995 + GST
Virtual Pass – Standard $2,595 + GST
Virtual Pass – Healthcare Professional $1,795 + GST

Venue

Hilton Sydney
488 George St
Sydney NSW 2000

Event Code of Conduct

We want everyone who comes to our events to have a great experience. This code explains our expectations and rules, which includes general good practice behaviour, and how to report anything witnessed or experienced that goes against them. Read our Event Code of Conduct here.

ConnectMe + Streamly

ConnectMe • Networking enhanced

All of our events utilise a bespoke dynamic smartphone app, ConnectMe – which guarantees attendees a premium event experience. Logins are sent prior to the conference commencement allowing you to check who’s attending, schedule in meetings and catch ups, participate in live Q+A and interactive polls, and much more. ConnectMe ensures you never miss a beat prior, during and post event.

 

Streamly • On-Demand video vault

Streamly is a new video platform from Informa Connect – hosting hours of session recordings from our events and more. Select the Streamly add-on at the checkout to receive an annual subscription to exclusive On-Demand session recordings from all of our related healthcare events*. Login information will be sent post event.

* Note: In a minority of cases, speakers may request their sessions to be excluded from Streamly access.