Children’s hospital deploys technology for patients to self-administer medicines

Facility in Aberdeen has installed a new ‘intelligent cabinet’ system and hopes, in the coming months, to explore the possibility of adding new functionality, including potential integration with patient records

Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital has trialled new technology for patients to self-administer medicines which it believes could “change healthcare”.

The hospital is testing a new ‘Bedside Intelligent Cabinet’ from specialist supplier Kinetic-ID, which stores medicines securely and alerts patients or their guardians when they are due to take medication. Medical staff are also sent updates, or alerted if medication goes missing.

The project will next explore whether it is possible to sync the cabinet’s software to technology used by the hospital to keep patient records. It is understood such an upgrade could help to automate the process of updating the machine with patients’ prescriptions.

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Hospital staff have also suggested newer models of the cabinet could generate a log of all medication the patient has self-administered, and Kinetic-ID is considering the recommendation.

Medication safety advisor at NHS Grampian Lindsay Cameron said: “Self-administration of medicine is about supporting individuals to take their own medication while in hospital. It’s not suitable for every patient or every medicine, but it can improve patient satisfaction and confidence, encourage independence and self-care in a safe environment, and improve an individual’s knowledge and understanding of their medication. This can help those already on medicines to continue to self-administer while they are admitted to hospital and others getting used to new medications to feel better prepared when it’s time to go home.”