Life Saving Drugs Register Goes Online
18 October 2023
Today the Life Saving Drugs Register has gone online to provide vital stock information of life saving drugs, including 31 antidotes and 10 antivenoms, stored across NSW Health facilities in near real-time.
The Life Saving Drugs Register will help frontline emergency workers pinpoint critical patient treatments and identify the exact location of these life-saving drugs to specific NSW public hospital departments.
Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) Chief Executive Prof Michael Nicholl said the new digital register, developed by the CEC, is also accessible from mobile devices to support frontline workers caring for NSW patients in diverse and challenging environments.
"The new register will help ensure NSW patients are better able to access life-saving drugs, either by having medications urgently transferred or patients transported to the most appropriate hospital," Prof Nicholl said.
"The register has moved from a web-based Excel spreadsheet updated every six months, to a dynamic webpage with daily stock updates from each hospital’s pharmacy dispensing software."
"When we get a call about a person bitten by a snake, time is of the essence," says Dr Trevor Chan, Senior Staff Specialist at St George Hospital in the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.
"Specialised drugs, like for some snake bites, are not stored in every health facility. These drugs, with a limited shelf-life, are stored where they are most likely to be needed."
"The new online Life Saving Drug Register makes it easier to find up-to-date information on where a drug is stored and to coordinate transport of the drug between nearby facilities if needed. It can even connect to online maps and show the fastest route to the lifesaving drugs," says Dr Chan.
Dr Trevor Chan, Senior Staff Specialist at St George Hospital in the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, using the LSDR.
"The digital upgrade of the Life Saving Drug Register is part of the Clinical Excellence Commission’s work to promote safe and appropriate medication use and ensure timely access for patients," Prof Nicholl said.
"This updated tool will support staff to work in time critical situations with flexibility and agility, and ensure patients receive safe care." he said.
The medicines on the Life Saving Drug Register include those used to treat paracetamol overdose, snake and spider bites and poisoning from heavy metals. People suspecting an overdose, poisoning, snake or spider bite are urged to call healthdirect 1800 022 222, NSW Poisons Information Centre 131126 or 000 if there are serious safety concerns.