Quality Use of Medicines
The Commission undertakes projects and programs to support the safe and quality use of medicines. This includes national guiding principles and national indicators for QUM in Australian hospitals.
From 1 January 2023, the Commission became the custodian of a range of QUM functions, expanding our role in QUM stewardship. For more information about these QUM functions please visit the QUM Transition page.
Overview
In November 2019, Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety was announced as Australia’s 10th National Health Priority by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council. The Commission was assigned the responsibility of drafting the national baseline report on Quality Use of Medicines and Medicine Safety to inform new best practice models, new national standards and better medication management.
The work to develop the national baseline report is divided into two phases:
- Phase 1 focussed on aged care and issues of polypharmacy, use of antipsychotic medicines and transitions of care
- Phase 2 will investigate the broader issues of Quality Use of Medicines and Medicine Safety, as well as issues of medication safety during transitions of care.
The National Baseline Report on Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety – Phase 1 Residential aged care identifies a potential roadmap to embed Quality Use of Medicine principles in the aged care sector, with the aim of reducing medication-related harm. The report builds on Medication without harm – the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Patient Safety Challenge – Australia’s response, (the Response), which was published by the Commission in April 2020.
Updated publications - guiding principles
The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, in collaboration with the Commission, has updated the national guiding principles and their supplementary resources to improve the quality and safety of medication management for all Australians.
The focus of these publications are residential aged care facilities, the community, and on supporting continuity of care for individuals who move between different parts of the healthcare system.
The updated guiding principles align with Australia’s National Medicines Policy. The guiding principles and supporting fact sheets can be found below, and under the National Medicines Policy resources collection.
Guiding principles for medication management in residential aged care facilities collection
- Supplementary resource: User Guide - Role of a Medication Advisory Committee
- Fact sheet: Medication management in residential aged care facilities
Guiding principles for medication management in the community collection
- Fact sheet: Medication Management in the Community
Guiding principles to achieve continuity in medication management collection
- Fact sheet: Achieving continuity in medication management
Consultation
The Commission led the review, collaborating closely with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Public consultation included more than 80 peak organisations and experts involved in medication management, individuals receiving care, and healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, doctors, and pharmacists.
National Indicators for Quality Use of Medicines in Australian Hospitals
The National Indicators for Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) in Australian Hospitals 2014 support measurement of safety and quality of medicines use for quality improvement purposes, and to help health services to drive changes in healthcare practice. The indicators have been designed for local use.
Development of the national QUM indicators 2014
The Commission engaged the NSW Therapeutic Advisory Group to revise the Indicators for Quality Use of Medicines in Australian Hospitals 2007 and develop new indicators for mental health and continuity of care. The revised indicators include:
- 30 revised indicators from 2007 QUM indicator set
- 2 indicators to measure the accuracy of medicines information communicated at discharge from hospital
- 5 indicators for acute mental health services.
Hospital QUM indicator set
The indicator set is accompanied by data collection tools for each indicator, enabling local results reporting and review.
All the indicators have been mapped to the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.
The QUM indicators can be downloaded as a set or as individual indicators.
QUM data collection tools
The data collection tools and user guide are available from the NSW Therapeutic Advisory Group.