WA hospital medication chart (adult and paediatric)

For facilities that treat paediatric patients (to be printed on yellow paper):

• WWA Paediatric Hospital Medication Chart – short stay (PDF 1MB)
• WA Paediatric Hospital Medication Chart – long stay (PDF 859KB)

Neonatal Medication chart (PDF 163KB) (developed and used at King Edward Memorial Hospital) – this chart is not part of the mandatory WA Medication Chart Policy

Guidelines and Resources

• Guidelines for WA Hospital Medication Chart (Adult and Paediatric) (PDF 1MB)
  This user guide includes information on the short and long stay versions of the WA HMC and the WA Paediatric Hospital Medication Chart.
• WA HMC education resource (PDF 1.6MB)
  This PowerPoint has been developed to assist hospitals in the implementation of the WA HMC.  Supplemental slides are available at the end of the presentation which provide information on the PBS requirements and discharge medication supply features of this chart.

Commission Resources:

The Commission has a number of resources available for the national medication charts:

• PBS HMC: Implementation guide (external link)
• PBS HMC: Fact sheet for pharmacists (external link)
• PBS HMC: Fact sheet for prescribers (external link)

Auditing:

Auditing at regular intervals is recommended to:

• Evaluate the effect of the WA HMC and WA Peadiatric Hospital Medication Chart safety features in hospital
• Identify areas of medication safety for future quality improvements including staff education
• Provide a baseline for WA HMC use and future quality improvement initiatives
• Improve the safety of medication prescribing and administration in hospitals.

Frequency of auditing will depend on the rate of staff changes, the risk of medication misadventure identified by the health service provider and other local factors.

Health Service Providers must participate in the biennial Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care Hospital Medication Chart Audit as outlined on the MTU website. Results from this audit will be used by the Department of Health (the Department) for compliance and effectiveness monitoring.

The 2024 NSMC Audit will focus on three key medication safety features including patient identification, adverse medication reaction documentation and venous thromboembolism risk assessment on the NSMC.

• ACSQHC National Standard Medication Chart (NSMC) Audit webpage (external site)
• WA NSMC Audit 2024 paper tool (PDF 363KB)
• WA National Standard Medication Chart Audit – train-the-trainer presentation (PDF 3.2MB)
• WA NSMC Audit Quick Reference Guide 2024 (PDF 676KB)

Registry for change

Under the direction of the Australian Commission of Safety and Quality on Health Care, a Health Service Medication Expert Advisory Group (HSEAG) has been established to provide national governance for the NIMC, the paediatric NIMC (PNIMC) and the PBS Hospital Medication Chart (PBS HMC). This Group is responsible for maintaining the standardisation of the national medication charts across Australia and for considering proposals from States/Territories and hospitals to change the chart.

The WA HMC has been adapted from the PBS HMC to reflect local needs. In order to maintain the standard safety components and adhere to the underlying principle of standardisation to optimise patient safety, sections of the chart other than the hospital logo and MR number are not to be changed without approval of the Quality Improvement and Medicines and Technology Unit, Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Division, Department of Health.

All major changes to the WA HMC and WA Paediatric Hospital Medication Chart need endorsement from the HSMEAG.  Recommendations for change to these charts should be lodged to Medicines and Technology Unit. Recommendations for change must be evidence based, with the primary objective of improving patient safety. QICM will screen these requests and escalate to HSMEAG where appropriate.