About NPS MedicineWise

To enable people to make and act on the best decisions about medicines, health technologies and other options for better heath and economic outcomes.

Our work will ensure people can access the best care and achieve the best value, considering individual circumstances.

NPS MedicineWise is an independent, not-for-profit and evidence-based organisation that works to improve the way health technologies, medicines and medical tests are prescribed and used. Established in 1998 with the primary aim of promoting quality use of medicines, today we have grown to connect with health consumers and health professionals nation-wide, changing attitudes and behaviours, and empowering all Australians to make the best possible healthcare decisions when they count.

We provide guidance and direction on the safe and wise use of medicines and health technologies so that people stay healthier and the cost of care remains affordable.

We connect and deliver meaningful information for health consumers, health professionals, government, research and other businesses to enable the best decisions about medicines, health technologies and other health choices for better health and economic outcomes. Evidence-based information is transformed into behaviour change services, digital health and data insights and knowledge transfer products.

We work synergistically and in partnership with peak health organisations and government, connecting health consumers and health professionals with evidence-based resources and tools to improve the health of all Australians.

We connect people with our behaviour change services, digital health and data insights and knowledge transfer products, and our work is rigorously evaluated to demonstrate impact and inform continuous improvement. We believe that well-informed health professionals and a health-savvy population are key to achieving better health and economic outcomes.

Behaviour change services

Behaviour change methodology is applied to the development and implementation of our therapeutic programs and health consumer campaigns, as well as our commissioned work. Achieving demonstrable positive impact is intrinsic to the design of all our work.

Digital health and data insights

Our digital health and data insights offering includes MedicineInsight and the MedicineWise app. Combined with our substantial analytical and reporting capabilities we are in a unique position to use insights to inform our work, as well as provide these insights to inform government, research and other business, in line with our mission to achieve better health and economic outcomes.

Knowledge transfer products

As audience needs and the environment change, our knowledge transfer products consider new contexts and situations and are adaptable, timely and responsive. Knowledge transfer products include publications such as Australian Prescriber and RADAR, Medicines Line and Adverse Medicine Events phone lines, and online learning.

We believe that working in collaboration delivers the best results. We work with member organisations, industry and professional organisations, consumer organisations and government, and seek advice from a broad range of expert advisory groups.

We conduct regular educational visits with GPs and group training with pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals. We encourage adherence to prescribing guidelines and help facilitate better communication with patients regarding a range of health and medicine issues.

We also work extensively with consumers, conducting research and devising a range of interventions to help overcome areas where knowledge is lacking or where a change in behaviour would produce better health outcomes.

Recognising that culturally and linguistically diverse individuals often have poorer health outcomes and lower medicines literacy, we have a team dedicated to providing information, support and interventions directly targeted at these communities. This includes in-language resources, direct outreach programs and peer-educator visits providing information and tools for those most in need.

The NPS MedicineWise Annual Report is a showcase of our work over each financial year. It provides an overview of our key activities and initiatives, reports on our performance, and includes our annual financial statements.

The NPS MedicineWise annual report is prepared in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001.

As NPS MedicineWise continues to develop new areas of interest and strength, educating people to make the best decisions about medicines and medical tests, we continue to demonstrate the impact of our programs on prescribers of medicines.

The 20th Annual Evaluation Report summarises the results from evaluations conducted in 2016/17.

Highlights include:

• $73.65 million – reported savings for the PBS, a result of the impact of our eight programs.
  
• $22.58 million – reported savings for the MBS achieved via significant reductions in CT scans and ultrasound services of the abdominal region by GPs.
  
• Choosing Wisely Australia – 80% of medical colleges and societies are now participating in Choosing Wisely.
  

In 2017, NPS MedicineWise collaborated with the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) on a research project looking at consumers’ attitudes to use of their health data. The final report was generated through qualitative interviews, literature reviews, a round table discussion with key stakeholders and consumer representatives, and a nationally representative survey of 1,013 Australians. 

The final report, Engaging consumers in their health data journey, is now available here.

These research findings provide key insights about consumers' attitudes to use of their health data and their preferences about consent.

If you have any comments or questions about this report, please email Bronwyn Walker at bronwyn.walker@nps.org.au.

Accessibility: this report is currently not accessible but will be updated soon with an accessible version. If you need help, please contact us on phone: +61 2 8217 8700.

Since 1998, scientific publications have been developed by NPS MedicineWise staff or funded or supported by NPS MedicineWise.

Read the full list

VentureWise Pty Ltd is an independently run, wholly owned commercial subsidiary of NPS MedicineWise. VentureWise was established in 2015 to explore commercial opportunities with pharmaceutical manufacturers, health insurance and other health service providers.

The work of VentureWise remains consistent with the mission of NPS MedicineWise to help people make the best decisions about medicines and other health choices. As a small entrepreneurial company, VentureWise can respond quickly to new opportunities, provide custom built solutions for customers, and extend the scope and penetration of products and services of NPS MedicineWise.

Visit the VentureWise website.

Choosing Wisely Australia® is an initiative that brings the community together to improve the quality of healthcare through considering tests, treatments, and procedures where evidence shows they provide no benefit or, in some cases, lead to harm.

Led by Australia’s colleges, societies and associations and facilitated by NPS MedicineWise, the initiative challenges the way we think about healthcare, questioning the notion 'more is always better'.

Choosing Wisely Australia is encouraging clinicians and consumers to start a conversation about what care is truly needed – identifying which practices are helpful and which are not. With the complexity of tests, treatments, and procedures available to modern medicine, not all add value. A large cross-section of colleges, societies and associations have come together to identify practices that warrant scrutiny, examining the evidence and drawing on the expert opinion of their members to develop a list of recommendations: "Tests, treatments and procedures to question."

The sharing of information among peers is a key to reducing these problematic practices that have become ingrained in the system. Importantly, it sets the scene for wider community involvement.

Visit the Choosing Wisely Australia website.

The National Medicines Symposium (NMS) is Australia's pre-eminent symposium on quality use of medicines, diagnostics and health data. 

Held every two years, the program is designed to provide the latest and most thought-provoking content in the medicines and health environment, delivered by international and nationally acclaimed experts.

It is a unique cross-disciplinary event, bringing together some of the most influential organisations, individuals and decision makers in the health sector to debate and discuss quality use of medicines, diagnostics and health data challenges and opportunities.

Attracting people from all sectors of the health industry, NMS is a rare opportunity to network, and share expertise, ideas and innovations.

In 2018, the tenth NMS will be held in Canberra from 30 May to 1 June 2018.

Find out more about NMS 2018, including the program and summary of the 2016 event. 

NPS MedicineWise has partnered with the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) to deliver a landmark, nationally coordinated immunisation support program for Primary Health Networks (PHNs) across Australia.

The program, entitled the Primary Health Networks Immunisation Support Program, will be co-designed with PHNs to better support and coordinate immunisation providers and services in their regions. 

Find out more about the Primary Health Networks Immunisation Support Program.

NPS MedicineWise has collaborated with caring@home to develop two resources to support clinicians delivering at-home palliative services to people who wish to be cared for and die at home, if that is their choice.

• Guidelines for the handling of palliative care medicines in community services.
  
• palliMEDS smartphone app to familiarise prescribers and pharmacists with eight palliative care medicines endorsed by the Australian & New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM) for management of terminal symptoms.
  

Find out more about these resources