E-DRUG: NPS MedicineWise closing in Australia
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[Many e-druggers will recall activities around the time the NPS initiatives were being developed. This news is indeed very sad but we send huge congratulations to the NPS team for their achievements over these 24 + years. BS - co-moderator.]
Dear E-Druggers
I have some sad news from Australia about NPS MedicineWise (https://www.nps.org.au/), formerly known as the National Prescribing Service. The organisation will close at the end of the year after more than 24 years supporting quality use of medicines (QUM) and Australia's National Medicines Policy.
NPS MedicineWise is an independent not-for-profit organisation which has been funded by the Australian Government as the national steward for QUM. The Government has decided to stop funding NPS MedicineWise and move many of our functions to a government agency, the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care (a standards and regulatory body for health care). Some other important roles are going out for competitive tender. Unfortunately, in the absence of this funding NPS MedicineWise has been forced to close at the end of this year.
NPS MedicineWise is proud of its legacy. Over the last 24 years, in collaboration with the 46 member organisations and many other stakeholders, NPS MedicineWise developed and implemented a broad range of services, activities and resources to improve the use of medicines, especially in primary care and aged care. For example:
- Over 150 national QUM programs across more than 20 therapeutic areas.
- Website with 1000s of pages of independent evidence-based information to help consumers and health professionals make better health decisions, accessed by over 16 million people each year.
- Free national educational visiting service (academic detailing) providing education on priority QUM topics for general practitioners across Australia, with approximately 50% of GPs participating each year and over 480,000 visits altogether.
- Regular prescribing feedback reports to all Australian GPs about their individual prescribing in comparison with other GPs; and guidelines.
- MedicineInsight - a nationally representative primary care dataset comprising clinical data from more than 10% of all Australian GPs and used to inform government post-market surveillance of medicines, policy development, quality improvement in primary care and research into medicine use.
- Medicine Line and Adverse Medicine Events (AME) Line - telephone services for consumers, providing direct access to pharmacists for support and medicines information.
- MedicineWise App - a free app that supports the management of complex medicines regimes, enables consumers to keep track of medicines and complex dosage regimes, as well as access important health information anytime and anywhere.
- Good Medicine Better Health Program - developed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations focuses on building skills around the quality and safe use of medicines in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
- National Prescribing Curriculum - a series of interactive case-based modules that encourage confident and rational prescribing, designed for health professional students and used within all Australian medical and pharmacy schools.
- Australian Prescriber - independent peer-reviewed journal providing critical commentary on drugs and therapeutics for health professionals.
- Choosing Wisely Australia - part of an international initiative and developed for Australian in partnership with health professional colleges, societies, and associations, encouraging conversations about unnecessary tests, treatments, and procedures.
Our programs consistently demonstrated positive changes in the management of national health priorities, improved health outcomes while providing a return on investment to Government >2:1, through savings in expenditures on medicines and tests.
So the era of NPS MedicineWise will soon be over. However, at least for the time being, you will be able to continue to access our resources at https://www.nps.org.au/.
More information about the changes is available here
https://www.nps.org.au/media/statement-on-transitioning-of-nps-medicinewise-programs-and-services
Best regards
Jonathan Dartnell
Programs and Clinical Services Manager
NPS MedicineWise
jdartnell@nps.org.au or jonathan.dartnell@gmail.com