Old drugs, new tricks – pharmacy magazine column wins national award Old drugs, new tricks – pharmacy magazine column wins national award

16 May 2008

A column on new applications for old drugs in Australian Pharmacist has won the trade media prize in the National Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) Awards 2008, announced in Canberra last night.

Australian Pharmacist is the journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

Winners across the awarded categories – media and the sub-category of trade media; student, health organisation, community and poster – were announced at the National QUM Awards event in Canberra last night.

The National QUM Awards are an initiative of the National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) and the Pharmaceutical Health And Rational use of Medicines (PHARM) Committee to recognise the QUM achievements of a variety of programs and activities.

The biennial Awards were presented by Senator the Hon Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing at the biennial National Medicines Symposium 2008 dinner. Journalist Geraldine Doogue was the MC.

The entry, the monthly column Old Drug – New Indication from 2007 and 2008, was authored by Dr Lisa Nissen. The series is part of the “Knowledge in Practice” section of Australian Pharmacist.

The column updates pharmacists on some of the “new” and sometimes unregistered indications that old drugs (and some not so old) were being used for. It highlights the new and potentially useful indications for medicines by providing an overview of the evidence base for their use in various new indications. This information is important to the quality use of these medicines and is otherwise unlikely to be gathered into any single straight-forward source.

The column aims to improve QUM by providing pharmacists with the evidence base behind new indications being introduced for older medications. Whenever possible, information was included about where the new indications are in the regulatory process, either here or overseas.

The “Knowledge in Practice” section aims to provide a wider range of continuing professional development opportunities for pharmacists who receive Australian Pharmacist, anchored to evidence-based practice and quality use of medicine principles.

QUM is one of the central objectives of Australia's National Medicines Policy. QUM means selecting management options wisely, choosing suitable medicines if a medicine is considered necessary, and using medicines safely and effectively. The definition of QUM applies equally to decisions about medicine use by individuals and decisions that affect the health of the population.

ENDS

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.