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Quality use of medicines

Research team

Professor Jo-anne Brien
Professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Pro Dean

Professor Carol Armour
Associate Dean Career Development, Medicine
Professor of Pharmacy

Professor Andrew McLachlan
Professor of Aged Care, Concord Hospital

Associate Professor Ines Krass
Head of Discipline

Dr Timothy Chen
Senior Lecturer

Dr Parisa Aslani
Senior Lecturer

Dr Bandana Saini
Lecturer

Dr Kylie Williams
Lecturer

Dr Beata Bajorek
Lecturer

Dr Rebekah Moles
Lecturer

Dr Lisa Pont
Lecturer

Research summary

Research into the quality use of medicines is especially active across a number of "at risk populations", specifically the geriatric, the pediatric and the psychiatric populations.

Within this area of research, Pharmacy Practice is looking at Medication Management Review, Consumer Medicine Information (CMI), Mental Health (Psychotropics), OTC Medications (S2 & S3), and the causes of and relief from back pain.

Research projects

  • "Medicine use in children with asthma"
    The project will use a mixed method approach to explore issues around the appropriate use of asthma medicines in children. This project will use a staged approach. A qualitative phase of the study will involve interviewing parents and carers of children with asthma to explore their perceptions and actual use of asthma medications. The results of this phase will be used to develop a quantitative questionnaire on children’s asthma medication use. This phase of the study will be conducted on a larger scale. The results of this project will be used to develop educational interventions targeted at consumers as well as health care practitioners to facilitate quality use of medicines in children with asthma. This project will be conducted in collaboration with researchers in other primary health care disciplines eg General Practice. An international collaboration is also underway to conduct this research simultaneously in different locations.
  • "Medicines use in ethnic minorities with Type 2 Diabetes"
    This project will explore medicines use among ethnic minorities within the Australian population eg Chinese, Arabic speaking. This project aims to investigate the following with respect to ethnic minorities with type 2 diabetes:
    Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about medications used to treat the disease
    Medication taking behaviour ie adherence to medication regimen
    Barriers to medication adherence
    Information seeking and sources of information about diabetes and medication
    Unmet needs with respect to medicines information and adherence support
  • "A Drug Burden Index: Improving prescribing and function in older people"
    This project tests the DBI as a tool to improve the quality use of medicines in older Australians. The study will improve the evidence base for the association between overall medication exposure and function in older people. The HMR model is a sustainable government funded service that can be used to bring this research finding into practice if it is found to benefit older Australians.
  • We hypothesise that the DBI represents a clinically useful tool to guide prescribing for older adults. Use of DBI as a risk assessment measure may help prescribers optimise physical and mental function, independence and quality of life in their older patients. This Application will test the DBI as part of pharmacist-led HMR to systematically guide prescribing in older people. The DBI will be trialed as an additional component of the accredited pharmacist’s HMR. Software will be developed to calculate the DBI and to generate a report detailing a patient’s DBI, the medications contributing to the DBI and possible association of DBI with functional impairment, which the general practitioner (GP) can consider and discuss with the patient. Additional reports will be provided to any specialists involved in the patients care and to the patients. The software and report will be assessed at the pharmacist, GP, specialist and patient levels in pilot studies. Accredited pharmacists conducting Home Medicines Reviews (HMR) will then be randomised to provide either usual care, or to add the reports on DBI and possible associations with function for General Practitioners, any specialists involved in the patient’s care and the patient. We will assess whether addition of the DBI report to accredited pharmacists’ HMR reports significantly affects:(1) medication changes recommended by HMR pharmacists;(2) uptake of recommended changes by prescribers;(3) physical and cognitive function in older people after undergoing medication review.
  • "Adherence monitoring services on community pharmacy practice"
    To develop, implement and evaluate an adherence monitoring service to be delivered in community pharmacy practice to enhance quality use of medicines. To optimise patient care and quality use of medicines through the use of effective medicine information, counselling and adherence services provided in community pharmacy practice.
  • "Acute and chronic therapy: Factors that influence patient adherence and persistence"

HDR candidates

  • Castelino, Ronald L.
    Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
    Submit date: July 2011
    "Impact of Home Medicines Review (HMR) on Quality Use of Medicine (QUM)"
    Primary supervisor: Dr Timothy Chen
    Associate supervisor: Dr Beata Bajorek
  • Eddie, Kaled
    Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
    Submit date: February 2013
    "The value of community-based incident management systems in optimising quality and safety of medication usage"
    Primary supervisor: Dr Romano Fois
    Associate supervisor: Dr Timothy Chen
  • Gisev, Natasa
    Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
    Submit date: February 2013
    "The quality use of psychotrophic medicines"
    Primary supervisor: Dr Timothy Chen
    Associate supervisor: Dr Simon Bell
  • Stocker, Sophie L.
    Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
    Submit date: February 2010
    "Quality use of urate lowering medicines"
    Primary supervisor: Professor Andrew McLachlan
    Associate supervisor: Williams

Competitive research grants

  • "Exploring the barriers to achieving Quality Use of Medicines in cardiovascular health"
    Aslani, Krass, Bajorek, Tofler, Thistlethwaite, Bunker
    Heart Foundation
    $85,000
    2009

Recent publications

  1. Aslani P, Krass I (2009). Adherence: A Review of Education, Research, Practice and Policy in Australia, Pharmacy Practice, Jan-March 7:1, 1-10.
  2. Halim M, Vincent H, Saini B, Hämeen-Anttila K, Vainio K, Moles R (2009). Issues in Medicines Use in Australian Children: A Literature Review, Australian Journal of Pharmacy, submitted.
  3. C1 19 Halim M, Vincent H, Saini B, Hämeen-Anttila K, Vainio K, Moles R (2009). Issues in Medicines Use in Australian Children: Reliability and validity of the Children’s Medicines Use Questionnaire (CMUQ), Pharmacy World and Science,
    submitted.
  4. Foulon V, Svala A, Koskinen H, Chen TF, Saastamoinen L, Bell JS (2009). Impact of regulatory safety warnings on the use of antidepressants among children and adolescents in Finland, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology (submitted April 2009).