11 FEBRUARY 2016 ANNOUNCING CHOOSING WISELY AUSTRALIA: THE NEXT WAVE The next wave of Choosing Wisely Australia® will launch on 16 March 2016. The global initiative continues to expand and gain momentum in Australia in 2016. Medical colleges, societies and associations are uniting at the launch to take the lead on identifying over 50 medical…

12 JANUARY 2016 NEW HONORARY MEMBERSHIPS RECOGNISE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN QUALITY USE OF MEDICINES Three highly respected health professionals have been appointed honorary members of NPS MedicineWise, recognising their contributions and leadership in quality use of medicines. Mr Simon Appel OAM, Dr Sue Hunt and Professor Robert Moulds were invited to become honorary members at the November…

    16 DECEMBER 2015 CLINICAL DECISION RULES TO DECREASE UNNECESSARY USE OF MEDICAL IMAGING The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) have taken the next step in support of their Choosing Wisely Australia® recommendations. RANZCR Dean, Faculty of Clinical Radiology, Dr Greg Slater says the RANZCR clinical decision rules (CDRs) for…

26 NOVEMBER 2015 ATLAS SHINES A LIGHT ON HEALTHCARE VARIATION NPS MedicineWise welcomes the release today of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation. Chief Executive Dr Lynn Weekes says that the atlas is key to helping build understanding of variations in clinical practice and identifying opportunities to improve quality…

20 NOVEMBER 2015 INTRODUCTION TO ANTIMICROBIAL PRESCRIBING: NEW HEALTH PROFESSIONAL COURSE Coinciding with Antibiotic Awareness Week and complementing this year’s theme ‘Antibiotics: Handle with care’ is the release of Introduction to antimicrobial prescribing, a new online learning course for health professionals and students. The course focuses on and provides an opportunity to reinforce knowledge of appropriate antimicrobial…

5 NOVEMBER 2015 OSTEOPOROSIS: REDUCING THE PROJECTED HEALTH BURDEN Despite an ageing population, prescriptions for osteoporosis medicines in Australia have remained stable. NPS MedicineWise has launched a new learning program and health professional resources on osteoporosis to assist in identification of patients at increased risk of osteoporosis, choosing and initiating therapy in patients particularly following minimal…

27 OCTOBER 2015 CHOOSING WISELY AUSTRALIA TO FEATURE ON CATALYST’S “TOO MUCH MEDICINE”   Choosing Wisely Australia® will feature in tonight’s episode of ABC’s Catalyst program, in a special report by Dr Maryanne Demasi called “Too Much Medicine”. The investigation will ask “Could excessive medical interventions be causing more harm than good?”. Dr Robyn Lindner…

22 OCTOBER 2015 NEW ONLINE LEARNING RESOURCE HELPS PHARMACISTS COMBAT PHARMACEUTICAL DRUG MISUSE To reduce the harm from inappropriate use of pharmaceuticals, health professionals and consumers need to be equipped to use medicines with potential for misuse in safe and appropriate ways. To support this need, NPS MedicineWise has launched a new online learning course,…

15 OCTOBER 2015 BE MEDICINEWISE WEEK 2015: ADHERENCE IS A BIG MEDICINES ISSUE IN AUSTRALIA Results from a recent survey conducted for NPS MedicineWise show that many Australian adults report they are not taking their prescription medicines as directed. A key message of Be Medicinewise Week 2015 is that when medicines become a regular part of life,…

9 OCTOBER 2015 BE MEDICINEWISE WEEK 2015: YOU’RE NEVER TOO EARLY/SMALL/COOL/BUSY/OLD TO BE MEDICINEWISE Be Medicinewise Week 2015 runs next week from 12-18 October, encouraging Australians to be medicinewise at all ages and life stages. Now in its fifth year, Be Medicinewise Week reminds Australians about the importance of using medicines safely and appropriately. Throughout…