Accurate, balanced evidence-based information about medicines
What NPS does
NPS works with health professionals, consumers, Government and industry to improve the health of all Australians through Quality Use of Medicines (QUM). Our programs are subject to rigorous evaluation to ensure that we are providing the services required to meet our goal.
Professional education & quality assurance for health professionals
Doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals can take part in education activities and use quality assurance tools to reflect on their own practice and apply best practice therapeutic guidelines, through our Education and Quality Assurance Program.
On the Health Professionals section of this site, find out about our:
- professional education activities, (e.g. case studies, clinical audits and pharmacy practice reviews)
- events (campaigns, conferences)
- browsable Drugs and Therapeutic Topics list for information on a wide range of therapeutic areas
- national phone service — Therapeutic Advisory and Information Service (TAIS) on 1300 138 677
We also prepare patient leaflets about medicine related issues that can be used by doctors during a consultation with a patient.
Keep up-to-date on the latest independent, balanced, evidence-based information about medicines regularly, through:
- Australian Prescriber and NPS News, distributed 6 times a year to more than 55,000 health professionals and students.
- Prescribing Practice Review provides feedback of prescribing data to all Australian GPs, along with practical independent information for GPs and other medical specialists, 4 times a year.
- NPS RADAR, provides timely and independent information to prescribers and consumers on new and revised listings to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule.
Working with Divisions Network
We provide funding to divisions of general practice to employ an NPS Facilitator on a full time, part-time or shared basis with another division. Training and support is given to NPS Facilitators who then provide services at the local level with nearly all divisions of general practice throughout Australia to provide:
- educational visiting
- divisional case study group discussions
- local coordination of clinical audits
- medication reviews
- opportunities to build relationships with GPs and pharmacists, and between health professionals, hospitals and nursing homes.
- collaborative ways to tailor programs to meet local needs.
Agreements to conduct NPS programs have been completed with nearly all divisions of general practice.
Taking Quality Use of Medicines to consumers
Our Community QUM Program, operating in partnership with the Consumers' Health Forum of Australia (CHF) and other consumer groups and organisations, aims to provide consumers with the information and resources they need to be partners with health professionals in making best use of medicines. National media awareness campaigns and community-based programs for specific population groups are part of our ongoing program for consumers.
On the Consumers section of our website, you will find:
- easy to use factsheets about managing your medicines
- help with managing common colds
- MedicinesTalk
- Consumer Medicine Information
- Medimate brochure
- Medicines Line, our telephone service on 1300 888 763 for the cost of a local call
Supporting prescribing with QUM information electronically
Through our Pharmaceutical Decision Support program, we play a key role in coordinating access to independent QUM information for prescribers and pharmacists via their computers.
To do this, we work in partnership with Government, software vendors and developers, professional interest groups, knowledge providers and academics. To encourage the inclusion of QUM in electronic tools, we have developed software guides and electronic clinical audit for GPs.
Curriculum and training services
In partnership with medical, pharmacy and nursing schools, and postgraduate training organisations and colleges, we provide education materials for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Our web-based training program is being used by the senior students of 12 medical schools, three nurse practitioners schools, one pharmacy school and one dentistry school.
We also develop training kits for people other than prescribers working in the area of Quality Use of Medicines.
Research
Our research focuses on enhancing our understanding of strategies that support Quality Use of Medicines. We aim to identify barriers to change and gaps in current evidence, and define innovative methods of delivering NPS services. We also promote QUM research capacity both within and outside of NPS.
Evaluating our own work
When NPS was established, evaluating what we do was recognised as a critical component in the ongoing development of the organisation. A Program Evaluation team and plan were therefore incorporated within the original organisational structure.
The purpose of NPS Program Evaluation is to apply rigorous evaluation approaches to our own work to support decision-making within the organisation and ultimately to sustain the provision of a national QUM program into the future.
