DATIS, NPS MedicineWise partner to deliver face-to-face educational visits to GPs across South Australia

A new three-year contract launched in Adelaide today will see the Drug and Therapeutics Information Service (DATIS) based at the Repatriation General Hospital continue to deliver NPS MedicineWise educational visiting programs to general practitioners (GPs) across South Australia.

DATIS, which is part of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, and NPS MedicineWise, have worked together since the inception of NPS MedicineWise in 1998.

Under the partnership, DATIS delivers face-to-face educational visits to GPs on current NPS MedicineWise therapeutic topics which aim to be responsive to the needs of GPs, their practices and the populations they serve.

In 2014, more than 1,900 educational visits were provided to GPs across the state: a 15 per cent increase on the previous year, with 85 per cent of GPs participating in all of the South Australian Local Health Networks.

NPS MedicineWise Chief Executive Officer Dr Lynn Weekes said the new contract recognised the value of building strong partnerships to enhance the quality use of medicines and medical tests.

“NPS MedicineWise and DATIS have a long history of partnership,” Dr Weekes said. “Strengthening the linkages between our two organisations will see the continuation of the delivery of timely, tailored and evidence-based education to primary care professionals across South Australia.”

With an ageing population and increasing chronic disease burden, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network Chief Executive Officer Professor Belinda Moyes said it was important to build and strengthen partnerships such as the partnership with NPS MedicineWise in the interests of patient safety and an effective health system.

“Medicines are the most common therapeutic intervention in health care today,” Professor Moyes said.

“While there is strong evidence that medicines have contributed to reducing symptoms associated with many illnesses, the use of health services and mortality rates, they have also had negative impacts at a patient and system wide level.”

“So it is extremely important that partnerships such as this continue to prioritise the quality use of medicines in the community, and for us to learn about changing patient care needs so that we can maximise the benefits and minimise the harm from medicines to improve health outcomes.”

DATIS Director Debra Rowett said the educational visits provided tailored, practical information and resources to GP practices across the state, from Ceduna on the west coast to Roxby Downs in the north and Mount Gambier in the south-east.

“GPs value the opportunity to discuss the updated evidence and how it translates to their clinical context and the patients they care for on a daily basis,” Ms Rowett said.