MONDAY 22 AUGUST 2016 BE MEDICINEWISE WEEK: HELPING AUSTRALIANS TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR MEDICINES  Be Medicinewise Week (22-28 August) kicks off around Australia today, with the theme of ‘take charge’ of your medicines.Now in its sixth year, this NPS MedicineWise initiative reminds Australians about the importance of using medicines safely and appropriately.  A new survey of 1,000…

6 JULY 2016 AUSTRALIAN CHILD CARE CENTRES URGED TO HELP RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT INAPPROPRIATE ANTIBIOTIC USE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN NPS MedicineWise has written to child care centres across Australia to enlist their support in responding to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Child care staff are well placed to help with education and increase awareness around the…

16 JUNE 2016 NATIONAL ANTIBIOTIC USE REPORT: MISCONCEPTIONS STILL PREVAIL THIS COLD AND FLU SEASON With new findings launched today showing that antimicrobial use in the community in Australia is higher than in England, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands—and that the number of antimicrobials being prescribed in Australia continues to grow—NPS MedicineWise is again urging…

1 JUNE 2016 Dealing with prescription drug-seeking behaviour The latest issue of Australian Prescriber raises awareness of the challenges of dealing with people seeking prescription drugs. Dr Jenny James, Medical Coordinator for the Substance Misuse Program at the Sydney West Aboriginal Health Service, calls for all GPs to develop practice policies that clearly state their approach to…

23 MAY 2016 BRINGING HEALTH DECISION MAKING INTO THE REAL WORLD: NATIONAL MEDICINES SYMPOSIUM The ninth National Medicines Symposium wrapped up in Canberra on Friday with a stimulating look at how health decision making happens in the real world. Improving health literacy, focusing on shared decision making and helping people to find and access high…

20 APRIL 2016 ANTIBIOTIC RESEARCH IS HEARTENING BUT INDIVIDUAL ACTION STILL NEEDED Following from last night’s Catalyst episode, ‘Antibiotic Resistance’ on ABC TV examining Australia’s profligate use of antibiotics, NPS MedicineWise is reminding Australians to preserve the miracle of antibiotics by avoiding antibiotics when they’re not needed. The program highlighted how for something that is a limited and valuable…

13 April 2016 Entries are now open for the category ‘Excellence in media reporting’ in the biannual National Medicinewise Awards. This award category recognises Australian media articles or broadcasts that have raised awareness of significant medicines or medical test issues, either among health professionals or the general public. The winning report will be judged on clinical accuracy,…

1 APRIL 2016 CAUTION! DIAGNOSIS CREEP An editorial in the latest edition of Australian Prescriber suggests that some guidelines prepared by expert panels are broadening definitions of disease. This means more and more healthy people are being labelled as ‘sick’. In the article published online today, Dr Ray Moynihan, senior research fellow at Bond University…

16 MARCH 2016 UNITED ACTION TO SAFEGUARD AUSTRALIANS FROM UNNECESSARY TESTS, TREATMENTS AND PROCEDURES The Choosing Wisely Australia® campaign has today released 61 recommendations of tests, treatments and procedures that may not be necessary and could cause harm to Australian patients as the global healthcare initiative continues to expand and gain momentum in Australia. The 61 recommendations are…

4 MARCH 2016 DEPRESSION: THE PLACE IN THERAPY FOR BOTH NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACHES AND ANTIDEPRESSANTS A new health professional learning program on depression launched by NPS MedicineWise focuses on quality use of medicines and the evidence for a range of non-pharmacological strategies. Healthcare professionals and particularly GPs are pivotal to the care of people with depression,…