Alexander Maconochie Centre moves to automated methadone dosing

ACT Health last month began using iDose, a computerised method of dosing to improve the speed and accuracy with with inmates with opioid addictions received their medications.

The technology saves nurses 22 hours a week or about half a full-time position.

There were 115 inmates in the Alexander Maconochie Centre's methadone program as of August 29.

All have their doses administered by two nurses, whose rounds take between four and five hours and cover the Hume Health Centre, women's accommodation, sentenced block, remand block, accommodation unit and Special Care Centre.

All dosing areas, except for the women's accommodation, are monitored by CCTV cameras.

The nurses aren't hired specifically to dose methadone, rather its administration is part of their wider duties.

Corrections minister Shane Rattenbury said the dosing system eliminated a "degree of human error, therefore providing an "extra level of safety".

"Methadone has to be administered carefully, there are complications if it is not done properly," Mr Rattenbury said.

"It increases efficiency for nurses, they get the dispensation of the methadone done more quickly and more accurately and that gives them more time to deal with other matters for patients

"It's quality improvement in the sense it has stricter, because it's iris-ID driven it ensures accuracy so the right person gets the right dose on the right day at the right time."

The system, which was developed by two phamacists, is used in six of the jails which have methadone programs in Victoria and will roll out to the remaining four by next year.

It is also used at a number of dosing clinics around NSW.

It is installed in five locations around the AMC, with two mobile trolleys in production.

iDose business development manager Chris Boag said the ACT's system was far more "sophisticated" than elsewhere because it not only had the iris recognition but was linked across all of its locations via a network.

"If a client for example is released from prison but then transferred across to the Canberra hospital and are in need of their daily dosing, their prison records are accessible by the hospital," Mr Boag said.

Mr Boag said it was particularly important clients on methadone did not miss a dose.

"It can be a really difficult drug to administer safely particularly if doses are missed," Mr Boag said.

"People on opioids become tolerant to drugs so they need increasing doses to have the same effect.

"It's the same with methadone although they don't get a high, but with the anti-withdrawal effect there's also a tolerance with that.

"You lose that tolerance quite quickly so if you miss your dose for three days and lose your tolerance the dose becomes toxic so it's really important to know what the most recent dose has been.

"The problem is it's sometimes difficult to know when someone got their last dose so the ACT has overcome that by implementing this system."

The way methadone is doled out in Canberra's prison changed after the death of Steven Freeman last May.

Mr Freeman died in his cell of aspiration pneumonia, caused by methadone toxicity.

Doctors who start inmates on the methadone program must now complete a form to formalise the process of determining opioid withdrawal.

Supervision of the inmates by medical and correctional staff following admission to the program had been tightened.