Health Support Services, the shared services centre which supports the WA public health system in Australia, has introduced a new pharmaceutical analytics solution that renders an overview of hospitals' pharmaceutical expenditures and supplies. 

WHAT IT DOES

Developed in collaboration with chief pharmacists across WA Health, the Pharmalytics app provides hospitals with up-to-date access to a dashboard showing their pharmaceutical use and spending. 

Key insights it provides include revenue and expenditure, reimbursements, stock on hand, backorders and stock held at all WA Health sites. 

It also identifies substitute products and stocked quantities and monitors contract compliance, supplier performance, and a critical list of COVID-19 medications. It has a built-in calculator for aseptic compounding products. 

HSS noted that at-a-glance visuals of the app bring users to focus on big-ticket items, potential savings, contract compliance and important suppliers and manufacturers. 

To facilitate the ongoing development and enhancement of the app, a Pharmalytics reference group has been set up following the app's implementation.

WHY IT MATTERS

Pharmalytics provides real-time insights into the purchasing patterns for each hospital, which was previously accessible by vendors.

In a media release, HSS said the app enables pharmacy teams to better understand their hospitals' purchasing trends "that will lead to greater efficiency and cost-savings" and help them make informed decisions around daily transactions in ordering, dispensing and distribution. According to Deepti Shukla, HSS director for purchasing, system, and analytics, WA Health generates approximately A$326 million ($240 million) in pharmaceutical expenditures. 

HSS also claimed that one of the app's key features, the overview of all stocks kept within every hospital pharmacy department, has led to "greater efficiency in rapidly identifying essential medication within the WA health system and enables clinicians and pharmacists to allocate urgent medicine where it is needed the most".

Moreover, through the app, chief pharmacists can instantly assess contract compliance by identifying the portion of orders for any product or product group when compared to primary pharmacy contracts. This function, Shukla said, would have taken months to assess.

THE LARGER TREND

HSS has been instrumental in the COVID-19 vaccination drive in WA. It developed the VaccinateWA registration and online booking system which was initially launched in February. It has been deployed as a public online booking system across community and hospital-based vaccination clinics.