Last week, NPSMedicineWise (NPS) launched its seventh Medicinewise Week campaign. The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘medicine misuse can happen to anyone’.
Read on to find out more …
What is medicine misuse?
The misuse of prescription medicine has been declared a ‘national emergency’ in Australia. For most people, the words ‘medicine misuse’ conger up images of drug misuse in the context of diverting (selling/passing to other people) prescription medications and/or taking prescription medicines with other substances like illegal drugs or alcohol, which of course are examples of medicine misuse. However, medicine misuse is more than this.
When people do NOT take their medicines as directed, they are misusing them. This may occur in a number of surprising and not so surprising ways. For example, medicine misuse might be:
- taking medicines at the wrong time, or taking the wrong dose
- taking medicines in unsafe ways, for example opening capsules or cutting patches
- sharing medicines with family or friends
- taking multiple medicines which could lead to incorrect dosing or side effects (unless used exactly as prescribed)
- taking medicines with other substances like illegal drugs or alcohol, which we mentioned earlier
Who are NPSMedicineWise?
The Medicine Misuse campaign was developed by the NPS who are an independent, not-for-profit, evidence based organisation. The NPS focuses on enabling health professionals and consumers to make better decisions about medicines, medical tests and other health technologies. The work of the NPS supports sustainable, safe and effective use of medicines and medical tests. Their work also aims to deliver better health outcomes to people and better economic outcomes for the community. NPS is funded by the Australian Government (Department of Health).
What are the aims of the Medicine Misuse campaign?
This year’s campaign promotes the idea that medicine misuse can happen to anyone. The campaign aims to encourage people to be aware of the importance of using their medicines as safely as possible and using them as instructed, to help avoid potential harms and mishaps.
Where can I get more information?
Campaign materials are still accessible and provide useful information for individuals, workplaces and groups concerned with medication misuse. It’s worthwhile delving through the layers of documents as there are lots of interesting facts and information.
See the links below.
Further Reading
Link to NPSMedicineWise 2017 campaign materials (also contains links to previous campaigns). Materials available include booklets, a video, posters etc.
https://www.nps.org.au/medical-info/clinical-topics/news/be-medicinewise-week