NPS MedicineWise is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care through the Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology Program to improve the way medicines and medical tests are prescribed and used (QUM grant).
With funding from the QUM grant, NPS MedicineWise:
- Delivers national QUM interventions targeting areas of high need and government priorities and promoting behaviour changes amongst prescribers, dispensers and health consumers that are consistent with quality use of medicines and diagnostics in a sustainable healthcare system.
- Engages in cross-sector collaboration and partnerships that support and promote the quality use of therapeutics, diagnostics and pathology.
- Creates and distributes timely, evidence-based information, tools and resources for prescribers, dispensers and health consumers in the Australian context.
- Improves post-market utilisation and surveillance data, including through MedicineInsight, by capturing, storing and analysing data collected from general practices and specialist practices to inform how medicines are being used in the real world.
This page contains an overview of NPS MedicineWise programs and activities currently funded by the QUM grant.
National QUM interventions and behaviour change programs
NPS MedicineWise delivers and evaluates behavioural change interventions, in the form of national behavioural change and education programs, curriculums, tools and resources, aimed at the quality use of medicines and health technologies. We aim to decrease inappropriate prescribing of medicines and inappropriate use of health technologies as well as to improve health consumers’ health literacy related to the quality use of medicines and health technologies.
National behavioural change and education programs
These programs address areas of high unmet need. They are informed by the latest evidence and designed, developed and delivered with key stakeholders where appropriate.
- Dementia and psychotropic medicines: Supporting person-centred approaches caring for people with dementia whilst decreasing an over-reliance in antipsychotics and benzodiazepines in both the community and residential aged care settings.
- Heart Failure: an active role for GPs and patients: Improving patient outcomes through early diagnosis and effective management of heart failure in primary care.
- Revisiting pregabalin: Optimising safety in prescribing pregabalin for neuropathic pain.
- Good Medicine, Better Health: Partnering with Aboriginal health professionals and communities to improve quality use of medicines and medical tests.
- Safe use of medicines for older people: A national program to promote the efficacious and safe use of medicines that contribute to the anticholinergic burden for people over 65 across primary care, residential aged care facilities and at transitions of care
- Psychotropic medicines and young people: Aiming to improve the quality use of psychotropic medicines for people between 16 and 24 years of age, particularly as it relates to antidepressant use.
- Opioid Analgesic Competency Support Program: Supporting the quality use of opioids and reducing opioid-related harms through provision of educational resources and interventions to support prescribing and dispensing competencies for health professionals in relation to opioids.
- High risk medicines: Opioids and Chronic pain management: Delivering a program of activities on opioid use and pain management to sustain and build on impacts from previous programs.
Curriculum, tools and resources
- National Prescribing Curriculum: A series of interactive case-based modules for health professional students that encourage confident and rational prescribing.
- Prescribing Competencies Framework: Describes the competencies that health professionals require to prescribe medicines judiciously, appropriately, safely and effectively in the Australian healthcare system.
- Risk assessment tools: A review of the evidence and utility of currently available clinical risk assessment tools that have the potential to identify patients at high risk of adverse events from their medicines.
- Consumer health literacy research: Exploring levels of consumer health literacy and activation as it relates to medicines and safe use, consumer adherence to medicines and the barriers and enablers to good adherence. All the supporting reports are available on the consumer engagement page.
- Quality Use Of Medicines (QUM) Framework: Working with Primary Health Networks (PHNs): This framework aims to improve consumer health outcomes by supporting the integration of Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) principles and activities into Primary Health Networks (PHNs) programs. This framework can be used by PHNs, health professionals and consumers alike to support quality clinical care and improved consumer health outcomes.
Cross sector collaboration and partnerships
NPS MedicineWise acts as a steward of QUM by facilitating collaboration across the QUM ecosystem, raising awareness of QUM through the development and dissemination of high-quality evidence-based resources.
- Choosing Wisely Australia: An initiative of NPS MedicineWise in partnership with Australia's health professional colleges, societies and associations. The campaign is supporting clinicians, consumers and healthcare stakeholders to have important conversations about tests, treatments and procedures where evidence shows they provide no benefit or, in some cases, lead to harm.
- National Medicines Symposium: An annual national forum dedicated to highlighting QUM and health technology issues.
- Expert panels: Receive expert guidance through advisory groups including the Council of Australian Therapeutic Advisory groups (CATAG) and the Clinical Intervention Advisory Group (CIAG).
- Consumer engagement: The way we ensure consumers influence and participate in the development of QUM programs, products and services
- QUM primary care framework: Improving Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) in primary care in partnership with Primary Health Networks (PHNs)
Evidence-based information, tools and resources
NPS MedicineWise creates and distributes timely, evidence-based information, tools and resources for prescribers, dispensers and health consumers in the Australian context.
Publications
Australian Prescriber:
An independent, evidence-based and peer reviewed medical journal (and associated resources) focussed on drugs and therapeutics. The journal enables healthcare professionals to be across the development and appropriate use of new and emerging drugs and treatments that are relevant to the management of patients in the Australian health care system.
RADAR:
Provides health professionals with timely, independent, evidence-based information on new drugs and medical tests and changes to listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Medicare Benefits Schedule.
Online education and information
Services
- Medicines Line: A telephone service providing consumers with information on prescription, over-the-counter and complementary (herbal, ‘natural’, vitamin and mineral) medicines.
- Adverse Medicines Event Line: A telephone service that provides consumers with an avenue for reporting and discussing adverse experiences with medicines.
- Medicinewise App: A smartphone app to help people keep track of their medicines and access important health info anytime and anywhere, especially in emergencies
Post-market utilisation and surveillance
NPS MedicineWise provides data insights that support post-market surveillance and utilisation of medicines and tests.
- MedicineInsight: is a national program which collects general practice data to support quality improvement in Australian primary care and post-market surveillance of medicines and tests.
- MedicineInsight post-market surveillance: Using MedicineInsight, we generate reports and research linking diagnosis, prescriptions and clinical indicators within a national representative cohort, and address gaps in knowledge about how and why medicines are prescribed.
Completed national QUM interventions and behaviour change programs
The following programs were completed before FY2021-22. The material from these programs is regularly updated to reflect the latest evidence.
- Asthma: diagnosis and treatment: Aiming to improve the diagnosis and management of people with asthma in Australian primary care.
- Abdominal imaging: Improving quality use of imaging for people with lower gastro-intestinal disorders
- Opioids, chronic pain and the bigger picture: Aiming to reduce the harms of opioids while ensuring adequate pain management.