NPS MedicineWise has released a series of in-pharmacy resources to help health professionals drive awareness and educate consumers about medicine brand choices.

The resource kit, to be distributed to pharmacies in July and August, includes point-of-sale materials, counter mats and repeat prescription folders featuring key messages designed to give consumers confidence when making choices between medicine brands.

A detailed brochure with further information, including how to find and identify the active ingredient, has also been provided for consumers along with an NPS Medicines List, to help them keep track of all the medicines they are taking.

NPS clinical adviser Dr Danielle Stowasser said the pharmacy setting is the point where people most frequently make decisions about medicine brands so ensuring they have adequate information is crucial.

“Pharmacies are often the first place where consumers are offered a choice of medicine brand or a generic equivalent. If they are offered a different brand to the one prescribed by their doctor or to the one which they normally take, this can cause confusion and lead to medicine mistakes. Providing information at this point is crucial to ensuring they have the confidence to make an informed choice about their medicine brands.”

“While health professionals understand concepts such as bioequivalence, they need to be able to assist consumers with an explanation they can understand. The visual displays will also help raise awareness about medicine brand choices and prompt consumers to ask more questions, leading to better-informed discussions with their health professionals and better decisions about their health.”

The resources will be displayed and available in pharmacies across Australia from July and additional resources can be ordered online at www.nps.org.au/hporders  

This will include brochures and NPS Medicines Lists for consumers in Arabic, Chinese: Mandarin, Chinese: Cantonese, Croatian, Greek, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese and Macedonian.

For further information about the NPS Medicine Brand Choices campaign visit www.nps.org.au/bemedicinewise/brand_choices

ENDS

Independent, evidence-based and not-for-profit, NPS enables better decisions about medicines and medical tests.We are funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.