NOVEMBER 2018
1. New resources to improve the quality of at-home palliative care service delivery
NPS MedicineWise has collaborated with caring@home to develop resources to support clinicians delivering at-home palliative services to people who choose to be cared for and die at home.
* Guidelines for handling palliative care medicines in community services
* palliMEDS smartphone app to familiarise prescribers and pharmacists with 8 palliative care medicines endorsed by the Australian & New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM).
2. Getting to the heart of diabetes webinar replay now available
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A CPD-accredited recording of our latest webinar: Getting to the heart of diabetes is now available to watch on demand.
The webinar presentation slides are also available to download.
3. Gabapentinoid misuse: an emerging problem
Concerns about potential misuse of pregabalin and gabapentin (gabapentinoids) are now emerging, leaving a growing number of prescribers wondering what this means for their practice and their patients.
Read more
4. Australian Prescriber
2 November 2018
5. Are you up to speed on antibiotic resistance?
This World Antibiotic Awareness Week (12-18 November 2018), health professionals around Australia are being asked to play their part in reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance by improving antibiotic use in the face of this global health threat.
The NPS MedicineWise antibiotic resistance website hub puts information, resources and professional development options for doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals together in one handy location.
Resources for health professionals to share with consumers include:
- A downloadable patient action plan (symptomatic management pad) for respiratory tract infections (RTIs)
- A childhood RTI factsheet, particularly designed for parents – explaining why antibiotics may not be needed, and clarifying the expected duration of symptoms, which a lot of people underestimate
- Translated antibiotics information in Arabic, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese
NPS MedicineWise offers CPD activities for GPs, pharmacists and nurses including a clinical e-audit on RTIs, online case studies on otitis media and urinary tract infections, and online courses on antimicrobial prescribing and management of infections.
In Australia, NPS MedicineWise also leads the Choosing Wisely Australia initiative, which has 15 recommendations relating to antibiotic use.
To access the antibiotic resistance information and resources, health professionals can go to www.nps.org.au/rar
About World Antibiotic Awareness Week
World Antibiotic Awareness Week is an annual, global event that raises awareness about the serious health issue of antibiotic resistance.
The event encourages people around the world to use antibiotics responsibly.
This year, NPS MedicineWise is urging all Australians that it’s time to take antibiotic resistance seriously.
We are proud to continue our partnerships with state based and nationwide organisations and agencies, as we acknowledge the ‘one health’ approach to antibiotic stewardship in Australia.
For those who want to get involved, World Antibiotic Awareness Week resources are now available including a campaign toolkit, downloadable posters, infographics and a social media guide.
These can be found at www.nps.org.au/antibiotic-awareness