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...in the HealthProfessionals section of our website
- 2012-02-01 00:00:00: Case study 72: Management of rhinosinusitis
- 2012-01-16 00:00:00: Apixaban (Eliquis) for preventing venous thromboembolism after knee or hip replacement surgery
- 2012-01-16 00:00:00: NPS RADAR January 2012
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Health professionals information HEALTH PROFESSIONALS INFORMATION
Consumer campaigns: Find health professional information on all our consumer campaigns. See the latest campaign.
Browse our evidence-based publications, other information and tools on best practice, or participate in our educational activities such as case studies, clinical audits and pharmacy practice reviews to improve quality use of medicines in practice.
Electronic transfer of prescriptions (eTP)
Find out more about the electronic transfer of prescriptions (eTP) and why it’s an important step towards an e-health-enabled healthcare system and improving medication management.
Current therapeutic programs
Cardiovascular disease risk: managing lipids
Find out more on our Drug and therapeutic topics page
Resources for health professionals
- NPS News 71
- NPS PPR 53
- Fish oil supplements and cardiovascular disease fact sheet
- Australian Cardiovascular Disease Risk Charts (external link to Heart Foundation of Australia website).
- Online cardiovascular disease risk calculator (external link to www.cvdcheck.org.au).
- Quick reference guide to absolute cardiovascular disease risk assessment (external link to Heart Foundation of Australia website).
- Full guidelines for the assessment of absolute cardiovascular disease risk (external link to Heart Foundation of Australia website).
NOTE: These replace the New Zealand Cardiovascular Risk Calculator that was adapted from materials supplied by the New Zealand Guidelines Group.
Resources for patients
- Download a Managing my heart health at a glance card or order hard copies of this resource to help your patients with or at risk of cardiovascular disease to track their medical and lifestyle factors, including medicine compliance and daily activity.
- Download a Your heart and stroke risk score summary sheet to use with your patients or order a Your heart and stroke risk score 50-sheet summary pad.
Activities
- Case study: CVD risk - guiding lipid management
- Pharmacy Practice Review - Reducing CVD risk: improving patient use of statins and/or ezetimibe (enrolments begin 4 April 2011)
- Clinical e-Audit - CVD risk and lipid-modifying therapy
- One-on-one educational visiting and small group discussions (organised by NPS facilitators)
- Interactive workshop for residential aged care nurses (organised by NPS facilitators)
Complete your Clinical e-Audit for the 2011-12 QPI cycle
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A CD featuring four Clinical e-Audits is available to GPs and GP Registrars: CVD risk and lipid-modifying therapy; assess absolute CVD risk, discuss risk with patients, consider prescribing lipid-modifying drugs for those at increased risk, and assess adherence. Management of hypertension; assess absolute cardiovascular risk, modify risk factors, identify and aim for guideline-recommended blood pressure targets and tailor therapy according to coexisting conditions. Review of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescribing; review management of patients using PPIs, identify and implement a step-down strategy for suitable patients and review concurrent use of drugs that may induce or exacerbate dyspepsia/ulceration. Optimising management of type 2 diabetes; review drug therapy and achieve target levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Why complete a Clinical e-Audit?
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Therapeutic choices for menopausal symptoms
NPS is offering health professionals the opportunity to participate in a multifaceted therapeutic program and earn continuing professional development points. General practices may also be eligible for financial incentives under the Quality Prescribing Initiative (QPI) of the Practice Incentives Program (PIP).As new evidence has emerged over the last decade, there has been debate about the safest and most effective treatment options for managing the symptoms of menopause. NPS says the decision about which treatments to use should be made jointly between the health professional and the patient.
The program includes:
- Educational visits and peer group discussion based on case scenarios
- Case studies for health professionals to refine decision making skills
- Prescribing feedback for GPs
- NPS News (64) - Therapeutic choices for menopausal symptoms
- Case study (59) - Optimising quality of life during menopause
- Prescribing Practice Review (47) - Therapeutic choices for menopausal symptoms.
- Discuss a woman’s goals and concerns about menopause and her treatment preferences
- Oestrogen with or without progestogen is the most effective treatment for women with menopausal symptoms
- Consider potential benefits and harms and assess cardiovascular risk
- Tailor the dose and duration of therapy according to individual symptoms and existing risks
- Inform women about the limited efficacy and safety data on complementary
- and alternative medicines
Book NOW and earn points - contact your NPS facilitator via your local division of general practice.
Incentive payments for your practice
Do you need to do more activities for the current Quality Prescribing Initiative (QPI) year? (ends 30 April)Contact NPS now to discuss your options.
We can help you to meet your QPI requirements.
Call 02 8217 8700 or contact us by email
- Find out more about the Practice Incentives Program - Quality Prescribing Initiative (links to the Medicare website)
Prescribing antidepressants in children
NPS is aware of concern about the rate of antidepressants being prescribed for children.
NPS periodically reviews the available data to identify whether there are significant issues and/or a need to change current prescribing practice.See our Antidepressants topic page.
Drugs and therapeutic topics
Browse our information for the therapeutic areas below, including articles from our publications, professional education activities, and practice tools.
Do a case study
Refine your clinical decision-making skills by doing our free case studies and receive a feedback report with expert commentary and aggregated responses of other participants.
Aged care facilities: evaluating drug use
in managing insomnia
Completing our Drug Use Evaluation (DUE) activity will help aged care facilities comply with standards and guidelines in the use of hypnotic medicines in managing insomnia.
New drugs
Keep up with additions or changes to the PBS with NPS RADAR, published 3 times a year.
- Apixaban (Eliquis) for preventing venous thromboembolism after knee or hip replacement surgery
- Asenapine (Saphris) for schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder (acute mania or maintenance)
- Oxycodone-with-naloxone controlled-release tablets (Targin) for chronic severe pain
- Indacaterol (Onbrez) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Ticagrelor (Brilinta) for acute coronary syndrome
- Generic losartan (Cozavan) PBS listed for hypertension
- Budesonide with eformoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler) for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Long-acting intramuscular injectable form of paliperidone (Invega Sustenna) for schizophrenia
- Dabigatran (Pradaxa) safety update: assess and monitor kidney function
- Drugs for Alzheimer’s disease: PBS criteria no longer include referral to a specialist
- Buprenorphine with naloxone (Suboxone Sublingual Film) for opiate dependence
- Pioglitazone and bladder cancer: new safety advice
- Dabigatran (Pradaxa) for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation
- Varenicline (Champix) safety update: possible increase in serious cardiovascular events
- 13-Valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine
(Prevenar 13) listed on the National Immunisation Program - Generic brand of fentanyl patches (Denpax) PBS listed
- Dutasteride with tamsulosin (Duodart) PBS listed for benign prostatic hyperplasia
- Saxagliptin (Onglyza) tablets PBS listed for type 2 diabetes
- Sitagliptin, vildagliptin and saxagliptin — dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (‘gliptins’) for add-on therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Daily dose requirements removed from PBS listings for ezetimibe and ezetimibe with simvastatin (Ezetrol, Vytorin)
- Rosiglitazone (Avandia) and rosiglitazone with metformin (Avandamet): streamlined authority removed
- Telmisartan with amlodipine fixed-dose combination tablets (Twynsta) PBS listed
- Exenatide (Byetta) for type 2 diabetes mellitus
- New dual and triple antihypertensive combinations PBS listed — be aware of potential confusion
- Alendronate and its combinations: PBS listing extended to corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis
- Eletriptan (Relpax) and other triptans for migraine
- Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (‘gliptins’) for type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Adrenaline autoinjector (Anapen) for acute allergic anaphylaxis
- Paracetamol with caffeine (Panadol Extra) available over the counter from pharmacies
- PBS listing of extended-release pramipexole (Sifrol ER) for Parkinson’s disease
- Exenatide (Byetta): first in another new class of diabetes drugs
- Anakinra (Kineret) to be deleted from the PBS
- Methoxyflurane (Penthrox) for analgesia (doctor’s bag listing)
- Melatonin prolonged-release tablets (Circadin) for primary insomnia in older people
- Colchicine for acute gout: updated information about dosing and drug interactions
- Dabigatran (Pradaxa) for preventing venous thromboembolism after hip or knee replacement surgery
- Rizatriptan (Maxalt) 10 mg wafers for migraine, and revised listings for other 5HT1 agonists (‘triptans’)
- Postmarketing reports of pancreatitis with sitagliptin products (Janumet, Januvia)
- Extended PBS listings for zoledronic acid 5mg (Aclasta)
- Methylnaltrexone injections (Relistor) for opioid-induced constipation in palliative care
- Nebivolol (Nebilet) for chronic heart failure
- Authority listing for terbinafine extended to children and adolescents
- Albendazole (Zentel) listing extended to treat hookworm and strongyloidiasis
Date published: 2012-01-16 00:00:00
Reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the date of creation. This information is not intended as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified health professional. Health professionals should rely on their own expertise and enquiries when providing medical advice or treatment. Where permitted by law, NPS disclaims all liability (including for negligence) for any loss, damage or injury resulting from reliance on or use of this information. Read our full disclaimer.
References to brands should not be taken as an endorsement by NPS.
