Two new grants to support consumer health literacy and improve the use of medicines will see peak health and consumer organisations working side-by-side.
​The Quality Use of Medicines Alliance represents a group of eight health and consumer organisations, bringing together unique expertise from education providers, consumer groups, researchers, health professionals, peak bodies and member organisations to develop free health education products for a national audience of health professionals and consumers.
​The grants will run over a 2-year period and address priority quality use of medicines issues for atopic dermatitis, gout, antidepressants in older people and oral anticoagulants, awarded under the Australian Government’s Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology (QUDTP) Program.
​Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) National President Dr Fei Sim FPS said that improving the Quality Use of Medicines requires all health professionals working together.
​“PSA is proud to be part of the Quality Use of Medicines Alliance, awarded health professional education and consumer health literacy grants by the Department of Health and Aged Care to improve health literacy and education,” Dr Sim says.
​“Evidence shows that when health professionals and consumers work together, we can support more effective healthcare, better medicine safety and improved health outcomes.
​“We are working with the Quality Use of Medicines Alliance to close knowledge gaps in atopic dermatitis, gout, oral anticoagulants, and antidepressants in older people.
​“Through this work, PSA is proudly supporting pharmacists to not only champion safe and effective medicine use, but also to support health literacy and information for our patients.” Dr Sim says.
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The Quality Use of Medicines Alliance consists of:
- Medcast: a nationwide provider of independent education for a range of health professions
- Health Care Consumers’ Association: a peak health consumer organisation working to improve the quality and safety of health care
- Arthritis Australia: the leading national arthritis charity supporting people living with all types of arthritis
- Eczema Support Australia: a national support network advocating for people living with eczema
- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia: the national peak professional pharmacy body representing Australia’s 36,000 pharmacists across all sectors and specialisations
- QUM Connect: a specialist consultancy with experience and expertise in creating and implementing quality use of medicines initiatives to improve health outcomes
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners: Australia’s largest professional general practice organisation responsible for maintaining standards for quality clinical practice, education and training, and research in Australian general practice
- Wiser Healthcare: a research collaboration involving the University of Sydney, Bond University, Monash University and the University of Wollongong, with a special interest in research in the areas of rational test ordering and quality use of medicines.
