THE annual cost of medication-related problems in Australia has been calculated at a whopping $1.4 billion - or about 15% of total PBS expenditure - according to a new report released by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
The Medicine Safety: Take Care report, developed for the PSA by the Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre at the University of South Australia, reveals 250,000 medication error-related hospitalisations each year, along with a further 400,000 emergency department presentations.
PSA National President Dr Chris Freeman said the report revealed the "sobering extent" of the issue, and showed the need for medicine harm to become a national health priority in Australia.
He said the number of people admitted to hospital as a result of medication misadventure was almost four times those hospitalised due to car accidents.
"If medicine harm was a chronic disease it would already be a national health priority.
"This report highlights that governments, pharmacists and other health professionals need to work together to reduce the alarming incidence of medication errors, misadventure, misuse and interactions," Freeman said.
The report's author, Professor Libby Roughead, noted that as the use of pharmaceuticals increases so too do rates of medication error, management problems and interactions with other drugs.
In 2016-17 about 66% of patients visiting GPs took at least one continual medication, with 11% experiencing adverse medication events in the prior six months.
"Four-in-ten older Australians have been prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medicine, confirming the need for greater checks and balances in the way medicines are prescribed, dispensed and monitored," she said.
The PSA argued that the role of pharmacists wherever medicines are used - in the community, at hospital discharge and in residential aged care homes - had the potential to significantly reduce the number of adverse events.
"There is a clear need for pharmacists to lead medication reconciliation and review activities...they are uniquely placed within the healthcare system, and the frequency with which they interact with patients means they are equipped to identify a medication-related issue and resolve it immediately."
To view the report CLICK HERE.
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