Erin Fitzpatrick

Erin Fitzpatrick is a Researcher at the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research within the Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI) at Macquarie University. She has over a decade of experience as a clinical pharmacist in hospital and community settings, including both adult and paediatric care.

Her educational background includes:

• Graduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy from the University of Sydney
• Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) from the University of Sydney
• Bachelor of Herbal Therapy from the University of Newcastle

Her primary research interests lie in medication safety, particularly in pediatric settings. She focuses on the evaluation of electronic medication management systems, medication work processes, and the prevention of medication errors such as wrong-patient records, suspended orders, duplicate orders, and drug-drug interactions. Her work bridges clinical pharmacy and health informatics to enhance patient safety.

Her recent publications (2025) demonstrate a strong trend in addressing specific safety issues in electronic prescribing for children. The studies analyze real-world problems like mistaken identity, order suspension, and duplicate orders, providing practical solutions through the Health Innovation Series bulletins. This body of work underscores the critical role of human factors and system design in pediatric medication safety.

Erin is involved in research grants, including a 2024 consultancy project on the National Electronic Medication Chart Framework, which conducted an environmental scan to support its development.

She is a member of the Medication Safety team at the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, AIHI, where she collaborates on initiatives to improve medication safety in healthcare systems.