12 March 2009

The positive impact of the National Prescribing Service Ltd (NPS) on prescribing practice and medicines use has been reaffirmed in its latest evaluation report, launched online today.

NPS rigorously assesses the impact of its work and publishes an evaluation report documenting this assessment each year for its members and stakeholders, including the Department of Health and Ageing. It is increasingly accessed and referenced by opinion leaders, academics and researchers.

“Many of our projects are unique, making the data invaluable for key decision makers,” NPS CEO, Dr Lynn Weekes said.

“This also requires our evaluation methods to be world-class, hence the working group which contributes to the development of evaluation frameworks comprises industry experts and innovation leaders.”

Last financial year NPS saved the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme over $58 million, well in excess of its contractual requirements. This was through initiatives such as educational outreach visits to doctors, pharmacists and nurses, training programs, resources for consumers, campaigns, and online activities, all of which were supported by its network of member organisations.

“Since its inception in 1998, the breadth and reach of NPS activities has grown significantly. The 11^th evaluation report provides measurable evidence that NPS activities continue to result in better prescribing practices, use of medicines and economic outcomes in terms of savings to the PBS,” Dr Weekes said.

“We will continue to build on our success, particularly in the four key areas we identified in our refunding submission to the Department of Health and Ageing. These areas include complementary medicines, continuity of care processes, enhanced phone line services for consumers and health professionals, and an evidence-based website about medicines issues.”

Key NPS achievements for 2007-08 highlighted in the 11^th evaluation report include:

• Positive changes in the prescribing of antithrombotics to prevent cardiovascular events and beta blockers for heart failure.
• 11,908 individual GPs and 3,318 pharmacists actively voluntarily participated in NPS core activities
• More than 2,000 senior medical students from 12 medical schools accessed the National Prescribing Curriculum modules as part of their health professional training.
• More than 800 practice nurses participated in two therapeutic topics.
• Telephone services took nearly 20,000 calls from consumers and 6000 calls from health professionals
• Of those GPs and pharmacists aware of NPS in 2008, 90% and 95% respectively perceived NPS to be valuable.
• Australian Prescriber and NPS News continue to be published bi-monthly and distributed to more than 60,000 health professionals.
• Nearly 2 million visits were made to the NPS and Australian Prescriber website home pages.
• Approximately 79,500 seniors around Australia have participated in the Peer Education program since 1999.
  

For a fully copy of the report visit http://www.nps.org.au/eval_report_11

ENDS

The National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is an independent, non-profit organisation for Quality Use of Medicines funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.