THE twin goals of improving health outcomes and generating economic savings can be achieved by ensuring more people take prescribed medicines as intended, and pharmacy services are extended to more Australians, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) said yesterday.
The SHPA was highlighting the main points in its Federal Budget 2018-19 Submission with an emphasis on boosting medicines compliance.
It also recommended improving access to cognitive pharmacy services on weekends and in aged care facilities, among its eight key recommendations.
SHPA chief executive Kristin Michaels says a targeted medicines support service would combat medicines non-adherence, a well-documented and ongoing burden on Australian patients and the nation's health sector.
"It is estimated two in five Australians have stopped taking prescribed medicine before they were meant to, on at least one occasion, and over one quarter of all hospital readmissions involve medicines non-use, misuse or abuse," Michaels said adding that a more concerted effort should be made to identify, manage and support patients at high risk of poor medicines use including those with opioid dependency.
Other elements in the SHPA submission sought a "bridge the gap" plan for high-risk patients leaving hospital, seven-day clinical pharmacy services being established in hospitals, embedding pharmacists into Australian health facilities to address safety and quality concerns in aged care, improving antimicrobial stewardship, funding hospitals to provide Closing the Gap Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Measure subsidies to Indigenous people, as well as developing a national pharmacy workforce reform strategy.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 19 Dec 17
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 19 Dec 17