Hosted by a rotating group of interviewers including our CEO and pharmacist, Adj A/Prof Steve Morris, and GP and NPS MedicineWise medical adviser Dr. Anna Samecki, we’ll wade through the reams of information – and sometimes misinformation – to provide answers from trusted sources for all of your quality use of medicines questions.
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In this episode NPS MedicineWise CEO Steve Morris interviews Leanne Wells, CEO of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) following the recent CHF Summit - Australasia’s inaugural consumer health summit.
They discuss what health organisations and health professionals need to do fundamentally to move towards truly consumer-centred care, how we build equity in accessibility into digital enhancement and evolution, and the role of health literacy and in particular medicines literacy in helping ensure people don't get left behind.
Steve and Leanne also discuss the challenges and opportunities of virtual conferences, and invite listeners to join two upcoming virtual events: the National Medicines Symposium on 18 May and the 2021 Choosing Wisely Australia National Meeting on 19 May.
Further reading:
In this special edition of the NPS MedicineWise podcast, Dr Jill Thistlethwaite talks with Dr Tania Gardner, senior physiotherapist with St Vincent's Hospital’s ‘Reboot Online’ Pain Management Program, and Ms Sarah Fowler, a member of Painaustralia’s Consumer Advisory Group, about the non-pharmacological treatment options for patients with chronic non-cancer pain. The discussion draws from Sarah’s consumer experience and outlines effective strategies for motivating patients to actively participate in the shared-decision making process with their health professional. This podcast was developed with funding from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australian Government Department of Health.
Further reading:
In this episode, recorded on 17 February 2021, NPS MedicineWise CEO Adj A/Prof Steve Morris is joined by the head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Adj Prof John Skerritt to hear the latest information about COVID-19 vaccination in Australia, which is rolling out from this month. They discuss how the TGA makes decisions about which vaccines to approve in terms of both safety and efficacy, and how potential adverse events from the vaccines will be monitored as the vaccine is rolled out.
This information was current as at 17 February 2021. For up to date information please visit our Further Reading links.
Further reading
COVID-19 vaccines – TGA approval process [video]: www.health.gov.au/resources/videos/covid-19-vaccines-tga-approval-process
TGA information on COVID-19 vaccines: www.tga.gov.au/covid-19-vaccines
Report a problem or side effect to the TGA: www.tga.gov.au/reporting-problems
Vaccines and COVID-19 – NPS MedicineWise article: www.nps.org.au/vaccines-and-covid-19
In this episode Dr Anna Samecki talks with Theresa Flavin, who has been living with dementia for many years. Theresa gives a powerful insight into how it feels being on ‘the other side’ and offers a unique patient perspective on dementia and changed behaviour care.
Further reading
NPS MedicineWise - https://www.nps.org.au/professionals/antipsychotic-medicines
Dementia Training Australia - https://dta.com.au/bpsd-quick-reference-cards/
Dementia Outcomes measurement suite - https://dementiaresearch.org.au/resources/doms/
Dementia Australia - https://www.dementia.org.au/
Older Persons Advocacy Network - https://opan.com.au/yourchoice/
The Empowered Project - https://empoweredproject.org.au/
After the closing address at the National Medicines Symposium 2020, Steve Morris chats with Prof Andrew McLachlan – Head of School and Dean of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney. They reflect on the symposium with the theme of Rising to the medication safety challenge, what 2020 has meant for the quality use of medicines and how COVID-19 has shown us what is possible.
In this episode NPS MedicineWise CEO Adj A/Prof Steve Morris catches up with Executive Director of the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce A/Prof Julian Elliott. They discuss how 2020 played out in terms of the top medicines that were touted as treatments for COVID-19, the emerging areas of evidence, and how clinicians on the ground have been applying the living guidelines.
Further reading
The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce and its Living Guidelines: https://covid19evidence.net.au/
NPS MedicineWise COVID-19 information hub: www.nps.org.au/coronavirus
In this special edition of the NPS MedicineWise podcast, Dr Jill Thistlethwaite talks with Associate Professor Michael Vagg, pain physician and Dean of the Faculty of Pain Medicine Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and Mr Don Firth, a member of Painaustralia’s Consumer Advisory Group, about the challenges involved in tapering opioids. They discuss the practical aspects of tapering, drawing from their different experiences, and sharing examples from clinical practice.
This podcast was developed with funding from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australian Government Department of Health.
Further reading:
In this episode Dr Anna Samecki talks with accredited pharmacist Kara Joyce, who has been overseeing the new NPS MedicineWise program on Dementia and changed behaviours: a person-centred approach.
They discuss the main issues facing aged care, specifically from a dementia and changed behaviours perspective, the impact of COVID-19 on this space, the importance of person-centred care, and what resources are available for health professionals to support consumers, their families and carers.
Further reading
In this episode Steve Morris interviews Dr Robert Herkes, Chief Medical Officer with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and past Director of Intensive Care at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. They discuss the ways in which the Commission has been supporting clinicians during COVID-19 and touch on some of the important lessons learned as a result of the pandemic. They also discuss why medication safety has proved to be such a difficult challenge over the years, and invite listeners to hear more at an upcoming panel discussion at the virtual National Medicines Symposium (NMS) 2020 to be held on Monday 7 December.
Further reading:
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care: www.safetyandquality.gov.au
National Medicines Symposium (NMS) 2020: www.nps.org.au/nms2020
