Australia’s health system is in the midst of a new wave of technological transformation— one that is connecting health information so that the information is accessible to patients, health professionals and carers at any time it is requested or needed for patient care.

This transformation is long overdue. Although medicines are the most common intervention in health care, problems with medicine use in Australia are also alarmingly common. Gaps and time delays in communication are the two most significant factors identified as contributing to medicine misadventure.

The digital transformation will piece together a health system that is currently fragmented—particularly in primary care. It will provide an unprecedented opportunity to improve the quality of care patients receive—particularly with regard to medicine safety. It will connect the dots in pharmacy practice, enabling clinical decisions to be better supported by an informed whole-of-patient view.

The vision of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia for what this ‘new normal’ looks like for pharmacists is straightforward: pharmacists with more information to better inform clinical decisions, and clinical care that is seamless, more customised, more effective and, most importantly, safer for Australians.