March 20, 2025Over the next 18 months, Northern Health along with 19 other health services, will be participating in Safer Care Victoria’s Safer Medicines at Transitions of Care (SMTC) collaborative.
The aim of the collaborative is to reduce 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions by 30 per cent in Victoria by improving medicines management during transitions from hospital to home.
A transition of care occurs when a patient moves from one care provider to another. Medication management at transitions of care is a period of high risk for preventable medication errors and miscommunication, which can lead to significant patient harm. Over 50 per cent of medicine errors occur at a transition of care, and patients discharged with incomplete medicines information are 2.3 times more likely to be readmitted. Medicine-related hospital readmissions account for two to four per cent of all admissions in Australia – approximately 250,000 annually.
Jessica Domzalski, Senior Pharmacist – Transitions of Care and Project Lead for the collaborative, said, “By collaborating with inpatient teams and community care departments, we’re aiming to empower patients within Northern Health’s uniquely diverse and ever-growing patient catchment to safely manage their medications during these crucial times of transition.“
The collaborative coincides with the launch of the Pharmacy Transitions of Care Service which commenced in March 2025. This new service provides pharmacist-led post-discharge follow up consultations that include comprehensive medicines reviews focusing on priority issues outlined in discharge summaries, resolving medicine related issues and provision of medication adherence support.
“Through implementation of a multidisciplinary approach and partnering with patients, we will ensure patients discharged from Northern Health are supported through one of the riskiest stages of the patient journey,” said David Nguyen, Deputy Director of Pharmacy – Quality & Informatics.
Featured image L-R: Ashley Webb, Senior Pharmacist Hospital in the Home, Jessica Domzalski, Senior Transitions of Care Pharmacist, and Tracy Hong, Senior Pharmacist, General Medicine.
