Giving Nurses Back Time for Patients Across New South Wales's Correctional Health Network

NSW Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network (JHFMHN): Medication Management Review

The Client's Position

JHFMHN delivers healthcare to a patient population of over 15,000 individuals in custody across correctional centres in New South Wales, a setting where medication management carries all the usual clinical complexity of any health system, plus the operational constraints of a justice environment. Medication processes were largely manual, and nurses were spending significant time simply packing medications, time diverted away from the primary care their patients actually needed them for.

What Tektology Contributed

We took a structured, human-centred approach to redesigning medication management across correctional health in NSW. The work began with comprehensive document review and familiarisation site visits, followed by a two-day Lean training programme that gave staff the tools to identify inefficiencies themselves, rather than have them identified for them. We mapped current-state processes in detail, then ran a cross-functional design workshop to co-develop the future workflows directly with the people who'd need to run them.

The future-state model rested on three shifts working together. Medication packing moved from site-based, nurse-led work to centralised, pharmacy-led packing for the majority of patients. Daily dose administration shifted to monthly self-medication packs for patients who were clinically stable enough to manage them. And patients themselves were given greater autonomy and education to safely manage their own medication, rather than defaulting every patient to the same high-touch process regardless of clinical need. Smarter workflows and digital integration supported the transition throughout, but the redesign was never really about the technology. It was about matching the level of clinical oversight to what each patient actually needed.

Outcome

We delivered a comprehensive suite of solutions addressing each sub-process in the medication management journey, backed by a 40-point roadmap, with several quick wins already moving into implementation. The changes were designed to give nurses time back for primary care, improve medication access and autonomy for patients, streamline workflows for prescribers, and unlock greater efficiency for pharmacy. Together, they support a more consistent, responsive and genuinely patient-centred model of care across Justice Health.