AMT delivers a standard national approach for the identification and naming of medicines. This includes standardised naming conventions and associated coded terminology structure to accurately describe marketed medications for computer systems, clinicians and patients. The terminology is for use by medication management computer systems, in both primary and secondary healthcare and is made available to computer system developers and their users without charge.

 

The Department of Health Victoria (DoHV) is using AMT identifiers and descriptions to underpin their new outpatient and discharge prescribing system.  The application uses the identifiers and descriptions from AMT as the basis for search and selection of medication items to create an electronic record and a prescription that is then printed.  

 

NEHTA Head of Solutions Development Paul Williams said the implementation was a major milestone in the development of Australia’s national e-health system.

 

“As part of the transition to electronic health systems, the need for an accessible standard terminology such as AMT to uniquely identify and describe the medicines available in Australia for computers, clinicians and patients is essential,” he said.

 

Use of AMT supports a number of safety and quality benefits – reduction of errors due to standardised terminology structure; safer exchange of medicines information using common computer readable codes ensuring continuity of care for patients across different times, settings and providers; improved decision support through the consistent provision of a coded terminology structure providing a common framework on which to base decisions.

 

Over the coming months NEHTA will assist with further AMT implementations (within the Cerner Millennium system) across Victorian hospitals.

 

For more information on AMT and other NEHTA clinical terminology products and services please visit the NEHTA website at www.nehta.gov.au

For more information contact Alison Sweeney Media Coordinator 02 8298 2669 / 0414 187 350 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it