Medication adherence boost

AN ESTIMATED additional 70,000 patients of community pharmacies will benefit under the expansion of a Federal Government medication adherence program.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Health Department have announced the Government will provide funding for an extension of the Dose Administration Aid (DAA) program to help more patients manage their medicines and avoid medication misadventure and associated hospitalisation.

DAAs ensure patients take the right medicine, at the right dose, at the right time – a vital service to improve adherence and reduce medication misadventure to keep people living independently at home rather than in aged care, the Guild said.

Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt said, “The Government recognises the key role that community pharmacy plays in supporting Australian patients”.

The additional services will help patients manage their medicines regime and avoid problems, Hunt added.

Guild national president George Tambassis welcomed the new funding under the 6CPA saying, “Medication adherence is a vital aspect of the quality use of medicines...”

To ensure that the funding remains within the allocated budget the service is capped per pharmacy, but with the increased funding, the total number of patients benefitting from this program will rise to around 380,000, the Guild said.