Accurate, balanced evidence-based information about medicines
Community Update 12 Community Update 12
Community Update was formerly known as Community e.news.
February 2008
Keep up-to-date with community Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) initiatives.
National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) and other organisations actively engage with the community to encourage the Quality Use of Medicines (QUM). QUM advocates selecting management options wisely, choosing suitable medicines if they are considered necessary, and using medicines safely and effectively. QUM is a central objective of Australia's National Medicines Policy.
In this issue:
News
Upcoming Events
Latest publications
Free information
News
First consumer rep chairs a Division of General Practice
Congratulations to NPS Community QUM Working Group Chair Diane Walsh, who was recently elected to Chair the Top End Division of General Practice, Northern Territory.
Diane is the first consumer representative to Chair a Division of General Practice.
In addition to chairing the NPS Community QUM Working Group and the Top End Division of General Practice, Diane is a Governing Committee Member of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia and a Public Member of the Medical and Dental Boards.
“In all of these areas, I am passionate about the need for clear and honest communication between consumers and health professionals. I see accurate and appropriate information being integral to the partnership that exists between the consumer and those who are involved in all aspects of their care,” said Dianne Walsh.
“Having trained as a secondary English teacher I try to bring clear communication skills to all I do. Indigenous health and the particular challenges for health service delivery in rural and remote Australia are of particular concern to me.”
Diane has played an important role in the NPS Community QUM Working Group, having been a consumer representative for two years and Chair since April 2007. “Diane plays a leadership role in the program and brings a wealth of experience for developing strategies to improve medicines management for consumers,” said Hannah Baird, Manager of the Community QUM Program.
NPS Community QUM Working Group members contribute a range of consumer and health professional expertise to inform the work of the Community QUM Program. The current Community QUM Working Group members are:
- Ms Diane Walsh, Chair
- Dr Parisa Aslani, Community pharmacist representative
- Mrs Diana Aspinall, Consumer representative
- Mr Michael Bolt, Department of Health and Ageing
- Dr John De Vries, General Practitioner representative
- Ms Alison Marcus, Consumer representative
- Ms Kate Moore, Consumer Class Director on the Board of the National Prescribing Service
- Ms Christine Walker, Consumer representative
- Representative, Consumers Health Forum of Australia
- Ms Jo Mitchell, Health promotion representative
- Sharon Ride, Consumer representative
- Mrs Coral Rizzalli, Consumer representative
- Ms Judith Mackson, Manager Health Professionals Program, National Prescribing Service
- Ms Hannah Baird, Manager Community Quality Use of Medicines Program, National Prescribing Service
Future issues of Community e.news will profile other Community QUM Working Group members.
Common Colds 2008 needs health volunteers
National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is calling on the expertise of doctors, pharmacists and nurses to volunteer as guest presenters at child care centres across the nation.
The sessions are for child care workers to educate staff about common colds, inform them about antibiotic resistance, discuss practical ways to reduce infection rates among children and how to alleviate symptoms.
The presentations will be part of NPS’s 2008 common colds need common sense, not antibiotics national health promotion campaign.
During the 2007 campaign, 400 childcare centres registered for the information sessions and 160 health professionals volunteered as presenters. “Feedback from childcare centres was excellent and exceeded demand,” said Margaret Artist from the Community QUM Program.
“We would be very grateful for the ongoing support of those who volunteered last year, and encourage other health professionals to sign up to give these sessions and help alleviate the many misconceptions about treating and managing common colds.”
The 2008 Common colds need common sense, not antibiotics campaign, now in its eighth year, aims to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics for common colds as well as reinforce simple hygiene practices. The campaign runs from April to August.
The sessions are usually 30–45 minutes and provide a great opportunity to address the inappropriate use of antibiotics for common colds and provide practical advice on identifying and managing cold symptoms. It can also be a good forum for discussion about the consequences of antibiotic resistance, which is a very real public health concern in Australia.
NPS provides volunteers with supporting material including a specially prepared staff update guide, online PowerPoint presentation and a hand washing activity.
The hand washing activity provides a fun and interactive demonstration of how easily germs can travel if hygiene practices such as hand washing are inadequate.
For further information about the campaign, contact us.
Upcoming Events
International speakers line up for NMS
Three eminent international speakers are headlining National Medicines Symposium (NMS) 2008.
Jean Slutsky, Director, Center for Outcomes and Evidence, US Department of Health and Human Services, will present the paper ‘An ageing world: implications for QUM’.
Dr Anita Hardon, Professor Anthropology of Care and Health, University of Amsterdam, will present the paper ‘ Place of Medicines in Society’.
The third international speaker, Professor Rachel Elliott, Lord Trent Professor of Medicines and Health, University of Nottingham, UK, will present the white paper ‘QUM in the Political Economy’.
An exciting panel discussion to be facilitated by Rhonda Galbally AO, CEO of Our Community, will follow the third presentation.
The panel will discuss the policy and economic implications of quality use of medicines in the current healthcare setting in Australia. Other panel members include Dr John Gullotta of the Australian Medical Association, Mitch Messer of Consumers Health Forum of Australia, Karen Peachey of The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland) and Dr Janette Randall, who is the Chair of the Board of the National Prescribing Service.
About NMS
NPS National Medicine Symposium will be held Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May 2008 at the National Convention Centre, Canberra.
The symposium is the fifth biennial symposium focusing on Quality Use of Medicines (QUM). It brings together international and national experts, consumers, doctors, pharmacists, nurses, policymakers, project and program coordinators, NPS facilitators, researchers and academics, the pharmaceutical industry, government departments, health organisations and medical writers to debate and discuss Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) in Australia and overseas.
For more information, contact us.
Visit NPS at Diversity in Health 2008
NPS invite you to visit our stand at ‘Diversity in Health: Strengths and Sustainable Solutions’ Conference 2008. The conference will be held from 10–12 March at Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre, Darling Harbour.
At the conference NPS and FECCA (Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia) are co-presenting during the session ‘Individual Approaches to Healthcare: medication’ on Day 2 (Tuesday) at 11.00 am. The session will profile the progress and learnings of the NPS and FECCA partnership during the pilot of the Families get to know their medicines project.
For more information about the conference and to register, go to the Diversity in Health 2008 website.
For more details on the Families get to know their medicines project contact us or Corrine Dobson mcqum2@fecca.org.au.
Latest publications
MedicinesTalk articles in your newsletters
Did you know that NPS provides MedicinesTalk articles for use in your newsletters?
Simply reproduce the article in full and include acknowledgment of NPS and the relevant issue date as per the following example: ‘Article reprinted from the Summer 2007 issue of MedicinesTalk courtesy of National Prescribing Service Limited.’
The latest issue, Summer 2007, talks about how to get the most out of your medical appointments and when it is appropriate to cut or crush tablets.
For the latest and previous issues go to the MedicinesTalk web page.
Medicine Update explains new medicines
NPS’ latest consumer publication, Medicine Update, provides information about new medicines and new PBS listings for people who are thinking about a new medicine, or have had a medicine suggested or prescribed for them and want to find out more.
When medicines are new, less is known about their expected benefits and possible harms than for medicines that have been on the market for some time. Medicine Update provides the evidence available about benefits and harms to help consumers decide if a new medicine is right for them.
The latest editions issued in January 2008:
- Varenicline (Champix) for quitting smoking
- Fluticasone with salmeterol (Seretide) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Alendronate (Fosamax) for osteoporosis for preventing fractures in people with very fragile bones (low bone mineral density)
Your support in making Medicine Update available to consumers would be greatly appreciated. It could include posting a pdf version on your website and mentioning it in your newsletter. Medicine Update is currently only available online. However, if you would like a limited print run, we are happy to discuss your requirements.
For a copy of the current editions, or to register to receive a copy, go to the Medicine Update web page.
Free information
Download a summary of resources and order form
To view and order NPS's extensive range of medicines information resources, download an order form or go to NPS website catalogue.
Follow these links to subscribe or unsubscribe from Community e.news.
National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is an independent, non-profit organisation for Quality Use of Medicines. We provide accurate, balanced, evidence-based information and services to help people choose if, when and how to use medicines to improve their health and wellbeing. We are member-based and work in partnership with health professionals, government, pharmaceutical industry and consumers. NPS is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
