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Community Update 19 Community Update 19

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June 2009

Welcome to the latest issue of Community Update, provided by the National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS). The NPS Community Update helps keep you informed about issues around medicines use as they relate to individuals and the community.

National Prescribing Service Ltd (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.

In this issue:

News

Links to other helpful NPS publications

Free information from NPS

News

Type 2 diabetes DVD in Chinese and German

NPS has funded a project with Diabetes Tasmania to produce a DVD as part of the National Prescribing Service (NPS) Community Partners Program to assist older people within Chinese and German-speaking communities who are living with type 2 diabetes.

The DVD will be available from late July 2009. It includes information about:
  • getting the most out of visits to the GP
  • medicines for treating type 2 diabetes
  • suggestions for managing medicines
  • generic medicines
  • Home Medicines Reviews
  • lifestyle tips.
The manager of communications and development for Diabetes Tasmania, Jonathan Jones, says there is evidence linking increased days in hospital with poor understanding of the management of medicines. ‘Elderly patients whose first language is not English often find it difficult to understand the complexities of managing their medicines’, he said.

‘The DVD will provide key information in an easy-to-understand format, allowing viewers to watch the content and messages in their own language or in English. While it has been designed to be viewed in a group education session under the direction of a diabetes educator but the content will be easy to follow and can be viewed at home, preferably with other family members’, said Mr Jones.

For more information please phone Diabetes Tasmania on 1300 136 588 or NPS on 02 8217 8700.   

NPS online search tool to help consumers learn more about their medicines

To help people get to know their medicines, NPS has developed an online tool, called the NPS Medicine Name Finder, which identifies the active ingredient in a prescription medicine and the brand names it is known by. 

Launched at Parliament House in Canberra earlier in the year, the NPS Medicine Name Finder marks NPS’s debut into online social innovation products. You can find the tool on the NPS website and in the Google Gadget library. 

‘This unique tool has been designed to help people learn how to quickly and accurately identify important information about prescription medicines. Understanding your medicines can help reduce the likelihood of an adverse event and enables informed discussions with health professionals about ways to manage your health’, NPS CEO, Dr Lynn Weekes said.

The data supporting the online tool is provided by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Division of the Department of Health and Ageing and is updated when the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data is updated each month. It does not cover over-the-counter, natural or herbal medicines, nor medicines not listed on the PBS. 

Curious? Why not take a look. We’d love to hear what you think of it — so feel free to follow the feedback link after your search.

MedicinesTalk: we’d like to hear your topic suggestions

Every quarter, NPS produces a consumer newsletter called MedicinesTalk. Each issue contains three or four articles that provide accurate information and practical hints for people taking medicines.

We want to hear suggestions from community organisations for possible topics to be included in future editions of MedicinesTalk. Your contact with consumers puts you in an ideal position to be aware of gaps in people’s knowledge about medicines.

Recent topics included: ways to look after your medicines, using medicines safely, questions to ask a pharmacist, information for carers about managing someone else’s medicines, and treating depression.

If you have topic suggestions for future issues, please forward them to the editors at medicinestalk@iinet.net.au  or email Catherine Morahan at NPS.

You can subscribe to MedicinesTalk on the NPS website or by calling 02 8217 8700.

How did we do? Get to know your medicines campaign results are in

In 2008, NPS, in partnership with the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia, ran the Get to know your medicines campaign with Italian- and Chinese-speaking seniors. The evaluation of this campaign has now been finalised and a summary is available on request.

Thank you to those community and partner organisations who worked with us on the campaign and also took part in the evaluation. A summary of what we learned is below.

Learnings

  • The health education sessions were a very effective method for increasing awareness and understanding of the appropriate use of medicines among Italian- and Chinese-speaking seniors and for influencing behaviour change.
  • The reach of the sessions was strong with 68 seminars held nationally and an estimated 3250 participants attending. 
  • There was feedback to suggest that participants went on to talk to friends and family members about what they had learned, further strengthening the seminars’ reach. 
  • The health information component of the campaign had wide reach, with 75,120 resources ordered for Italian- and Chinese-speaking seniors. The most effective distribution channel for resources was through partner organisations. 
  • The evaluation indicated that each of the main resources (Medicine List wallet, Medimate and Questions to ask your doctor brochures) were useful, informative, easy to understand, and culturally and linguistically appropriate for target audiences.

While participants and partner organisations were generally satisfied with the resources, there were some areas where resources could be improved. Suggestions included:

  • resource size — ensure that resources are portable
  • text — ensure that text is large enough to be easily read by seniors
  • length — reduce the length of Medimate so key information is more easily located
  • language — use a less formal tone for Chinese translations.

We will be looking at this information and other evaluation feedback when we develop future campaigns. If you’d like to work more closely with us on this or other campaigns, or to request a copy of evaluation summary, please email Jackie Stephenson.
 
Congratulations and thanks again to all who were involved.

NPS: working with health professionals — medicines in the management of dementia, heart attack and constipation

NPS provides evidence-based information to health professionals to help them improve their prescribing practices and use of medicines. Recently, NPS has been focusing on medicines in the management of dementia, heart attack and constipation. Outlined below are some key facts about these topics that you may not already know.

Dementia

  • Dementia is not a natural part of ageing, but the prevalence of dementia increases with age. It is a syndrome that affects cognition, memory and burdens the carer. Appropriate management strategies vary according to the stage of the illness and the goals of treatment.
  • The groups of medicines called cholinesterase inhibitors may provide only modest improvement for a small number of people with dementia. NPS advises health professionals that when considering these medicines , prescribing decisions should be based on a benefit-versus-harm assessment for the individual patient, tolerability, adverse effects, ease of use and goals of treatment, and that the small likelihood of seeing an improvement be discussed with the patient and their carers before starting treatment. Also that the medicine will need to be stopped if improvement can not be measured. 
  • There is limited evidence to support the use of antipsychotics in the management of behavioural problems. A trial of antipsychotics medications should be reserved for certain patients only — the exception, not the rule. 
  • Non-medicine interventions can be helpful for people with dementia and those caring for them. See the Alzheimer’s Australia website for more information. 
  • If you have concerns about your health or that of a loved one be sure to discuss them with your doctor.

Hospitals and care after discharge for heart attack and angina

  • After someone has a heart attack or is hospitalised for angina, it’s important to create a long-term management plan in consultation with health professionals. This plan needs to identify risk factors and consider guideline-recommended medications to reduce the chances of future heart attacks.
  • An NPS project that has been running in public and private hospitals across Australia, called the Discharge Management of Acute Coronary Syndromes project (DMACS).  
  • It focuses on three key areas: the prescription of heart medications, education about lifestyle changes, and communication of the management plan to patients and their GP.
  • For information about the project or developing a post-heart-attack management plan speak to your doctor. See the National Heart Foundation website for more information.

Constipation

  • Laxatives are one of the most frequently used medicines in long-term aged care facilities. About one in two nursing home residents report experiencing constipation and 74% of these people are receiving at least one type of laxative. The inappropriate treatment of constipation can have a significant impact on the resident’s quality of life and increase the cost of care.
  • Despite their widespread use, it is often difficult to assess whether or not laxatives actually work. It may be that current practices are at odds with clinical best practice. NPS is working with staff in aged care homes and providing information to improve use of medicines to manage constipation. A toolkit is available for homes called ‘Laxative use for chronic constipation’.
  • If you have questions, speak to the doctor or nursing staff in aged care homes.  

NPS RADAR topics: osteoporosis, cancer pain and kidney disease 

NPS RADAR articles provide evidence-based information for health professionals about new medicines, new Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listings and research.

The latest NPS RADAR (May 2009) includes information about the following medicines:


Visit the order section to subscribe to an e-alert for NPS RADAR.

The flu, infectious diseases, motion sickness in children plus more

Funded by NPS, Australian Prescriber is an independent publication providing accessible information about medicines and therapeutics for doctors, dentists, pharmacists, students and those with a professional interest in health. The June edition of Australian Prescriber is now available and covers the following topics:

For full copies of these and other articles, or to search in the archive, visit www.australianprescriber.com.

To read the latest information about the use of antibiotics in respiratory tract infections take a look at the June edition of NPS News.

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NPS RSS feed now available

Do you want to keep up-to-date with information about medicines? We know that consumers want to find information about medicines that is written in simple language, and about treatments for a certain conditions. They also want to know how to manage their health and/or their medicines, and to be able to share these resources with others. Our new-look website has been created with these things in mind.
 
If you would like to keep up-to-date about medicines, you (or your clients) can subscribe to an RSS feed or an e-alert and receive an email when new editions of Medicine Update and MedicinesTalk and other relevant materials become available.

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Links to other helpful NPS publications

MedicinesTalk Autumn 2009 — articles to use in your newsletters

Did you know that you can use MedicinesTalk articles in your newsletters?

Simply reproduce the article in full and include acknowledgment of NPS and the relevant issue date: e.g. 'Reproduced with permission, National Prescribing Service, MedicinesTalk <issue month and year>'.

The Autumn 2009 edition of MedicinesTalk is now available. You can read about:
  • Using medicines wisely and safely
  • Generic medicines information for people from Italian, Greek, Vietnamese and Chinese speaking backgrounds
  • The ABC of looking after your medicines
  • Using medication organisers to keep track of your medicines.
Read the latest edition and find back issues on the MedicinesTalk web page. You can opt in to receive hard copies of future issues of MedicinesTalk and other free NPS information by visiting the NPS online catalogue.

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Medicine Update — information about a selection of new medicines 

The latest consumer publication from NPS, Medicine Update, provides information for people who are considering a new medicine, or have had a medicine suggested or prescribed for them and want to know more about it. It covers a selection of new medicines and medicines recently listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

When medicines are new, less is known about their expected benefits and possible harms than for medicines that have been available for some time. Medicine Update provides access to the available evidence to help people decide if a new medicine is right for them.

Current topics include:

Your support in making Medicine Update available to the public will help create greater awareness of the quality use of medicines. You could post a PDF version on your website and mention 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.

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Free information from NPS

Order 

NPS has many other free resources for use by community groups and health professionals.

To view and order NPS's extensive range of medicines information resources, go to NPS online catalogue.

For permission to reprint articles email us.

Subscribe

Follow these links to subscribe or unsubscribe from Community Update.

If you would like to keep up-to-date about medicines, you (or your clients) can subscribe to an RSS feed or an e-alert and receive an email when new editions of Medicine Update and MedicinesTalk and other relevant materials become available.

NPS and partner organisations actively engage with communities to encourage a greater understanding of medicines, as well as if, when and how to use them to improve health and wellbeing. This includes:

  • information about how to select management options wisely
  • if medicines are considered necessary, how to choose suitable medicines
  • and how to store and use medicines safely and effectively.

The NPS definition of medicines includes prescription, over-the-counter and herbal and natural therapies (such as vitamins and supplements).

The quality use of medicines is a central objective of Australia's National Medicines Policy. 

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