Putting critical medicines for COVID-19 patients in close reach

HealthShare Victoria (HSV) is collaborating with the Department of Health (DH) and pharmacy directors at Victorian health services to centralise the supply of critical medicines for COVID-19 patients and ensure supply is conserved for where it is needed most.

Key points

• HSV is Victoria’s single point of contact for accessing medicines from the National Medicine Stockpile.
• The Alfred Health pharmacy team is undertaking a significant role, ensuring medicines are distributed to health services as well as managing the associated administration and reporting.
• HSV recently secured priority air capacity for medicines with air force logistics specialists.

HSV is Victoria’s single point of contact for accessing medicines from the National Medicine Stockpile.

Despite rapidly increasing usage rates, critical medicines for ICU patients in Victoria have been continuously supplied.

HSV is working closely with the pharmacy team at Alfred Health, where critical medicines from the National Medicine Stockpile are being stored to ensure they are in close reach for Victorian public hospitals.

The Alfred Health pharmacy team is undertaking a significant role, ensuring medicines are distributed to health services as well as managing the associated administration and reporting.

HSV has recently secured priority air capacity for medicines with air force logistics specialists from Austrade’s International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM), a temporary emergency support measure put in place by the Australian Government to maintain global air links during the pandemic.

“Our job is to ensure every clinician has the medicine they need to treat patients,” says HSV Director of Supply Chain Surety Kate Warren.

“In addition to making sure essential medicines get to where they are needed, we are learning from clinicians all the time about the medicines COVID-19 patients need,” says Kate.

“We’re also finding that the clinical guidelines continue to evolve in line with what we are learning.”

Medicines approved for use for patients with COVID-19 are in demand worldwide.

“Every day brings a new challenge and we will keep working with clinical advisory groups, the DH, air force logistics specialists and many other stakeholders to find solutions to ensure supply,” says Kate.

Supply chain surety is one of HSV’s key strategic workstreams, with the function rapidly building capacity to access medicines, secure distribution and forecast for future requirements. Collaboration with a range of stakeholders is essential to improve the certainty and security of pharmacy items.

Collaboration between HSV, the DH, health service pharmacy directors and their teams, suppliers, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and other stakeholders throughout 2020 and 2021 has led to more informed pharmaceutical decision-making, stronger medicine supply chains and better patient outcomes.