National survey shows Australian seniors are most at risk of medicine mismanagement
- 680,000 Australian seniors (one in five) are hoarding out-of-date medicines
- 1.3 million Australian seniors (one in three) are taking four or more medicines daily
- 1.7 million Australian seniors (nearly one in two) don't know how to access extra information about their medicines
Sydney: Consumer research released today as part of Ask Your Pharmacist Week shows that Australia's seniors are hoarding a potentially fatal stockpile of medicines, with one in five (680,000) putting themselves at risk of harm because they keep out-of-date medicines in their homes.
The statistics relating to seniors (Australians aged 60 years and over) were released today as part of a recent Newspoll survey* conducted for the inaugural Ask Your Pharmacist Week, a community awareness campaign running from 20-24 June.
Of major concern, the survey found one-in-three Australian seniors take four or more medicines each day. However, nearly one in two seniors did not know that the Community Medicine Information service is available from their community pharmacy to assist them to learn more about their medicines.
President of The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (ACT) and spokesperson for Ask Your Pharmacist Week, Patrick Reid, said that the research shows that too many older Australians are not aware they are putting themselves at risk and need to re-evaluate the way they manage their medicines.
“Two services seniors should be using are Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) – where pharmacists provide them with accurate, upto- date advice and written information about prescription and pharmacy only medicines: and Home Medicines Reviews (HMR) – where your pharmacist consults with your GP to conduct a personalised review of your medicine and how you manage your medicines, in the privacy of your home.”
“According to the 2002 Safety and Quality Council report, there are 140,000 hospital admissions each year due to medicine mis-management in Australia costing $350 million each year, and 69 percent of these could have been avoided if the person had simply been more aware of and had read the information available about the medicine.
“One of the objectives of Ask Your Pharmacist Week is to educate older Australians about the many free professional health services available to them from their community pharmacy which are designed to help them better manage their medicines and stay healthier for longer,” Mr Reid added.
“Approximately 78.2 million consultations occur annually in community pharmacies. This represents a significant opportunity to help people better manage their medicines and health, to save the health system about $8 billion annually. The beauty of these services is that there is no need for an appointment – all a customer needs to do is ask their pharmacist, next time they visit a pharmacy,” Mr Reid added.
Chairman of the Australian Division of General Practice, Dr Rob Walters, said, “People can help protect themselves from potential harm simply by working more collaboratively with their GP and community pharmacist.
“If everyone took the simple step of ensuring they were accessing professional medical and health services such as Home Medicines Reviews, it would be fair to predict that the incidence of people mismanaging their medicines and the number of unnecessary hospital admissions would reduce substantially.”
Member of the Australian Women's Young Pharmacist Committee, Amanda Galbraith, believes CMIs and HMRs help highlight many small things about medicines that many people may not think could be an issue.
“In my pharmacy alone, I see examples every day where CMIs assist. There was recently a case where a patient who was about to take medication for hypertension learnt, by reading the CMI, that his love of liquorice was going to have to stop because it increases blood pressure,” she explained.
“Similarly, since October 2001 when the HMR program started, about 75,000 HMRs have been completed. Many people have already benefited from HMRs simply by having a pharmacist show them how to take their medicines correctly – explaining the why, when and how, including correct techniques and medicines storage.”
“Based on my personal experience I would suggest these two services have already saved many people from the experience of mismanaged medicines.”
Celebrity Chef and Ask Your Pharmacist Week Ambassador, Margaret Fulton, highlighted her concerns about the implications of these findings for Australia's aging population.
“As someone who finds herself now having to take greater numbers of medicines, I realise how important it is to ensure you're managing them properly. I believe the Home Medicines Reviews – where the GP and pharmacist collaborate to review the way you take and use your medicines in the privacy of your own home – is one service that may be particular helpful.
Ask Your Pharmacist Week is funded by the Department of Health and Ageing in the interests of encouraging improved health outcomes within the community. It runs nationally from 20-24 June. People are encouraged to take the time to talk to their pharmacist about medicines they are currently taking or considering taking, and any concerns they may have in related health areas.
*Newspoll Market Research, telephone poll conducted nationally, 1200 adults 18 years and over, including 273 Australian seniors aged 60 years or more, May 2005.
Contacts
Department of Health and AgeingGPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: 1800 020 103
www.health.gov.au