The Intensive Care Unit’s A/Prof Professor Adam Deane awarded $150,000 grant

A/Prof Deane was one of only seven projects to be funded by the Ramaciotti Foundation and the first win for the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) in 15 years.

The funding will go towards employing an engineer to maximally utilise our new Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system to help complete clinical trials and implement the findings of the latest research.

A/Prof Deane is the Head of Research and Deputy Director of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and the team at the Royal Melbourne Hospital ICU are in a unique position to undertake this project.

“My hope is for Royal Melbourne Hospital ICU to leverage the EMR to ensure all eligible critically ill patients can be identified for enrolment into a relevant clinical trial. It will also allow rapid implementation of results into clinical practice which then allows us to give patients, who are admitted after trials are completed, the best available treatment based on the latest evidence” A/Prof Deane said.

The RMH is one of Victoria’s busiest ICUs, and has patients arriving at any of the day or night.

This often means that the administration of life-saving therapies must frequently occur outside ‘business hours’, for example, during the COVID-19 pandemic or after motor vehicle accidents, critically ill patients are admitted at night or during weekend for emergency treatment.

Realising the full potential of the EMR will allows us to identify patients to participate in research projects, regardless of the time they arrive at the hospital.

The $150,000 grant will be instrumental in creating a shift in the way Australian hospitals conduct research and deliver healthcare.