An Australian-first research project funded and hosted by Goodwin has won the ‘Excellence in consumer information’ award at the 2018 National Medicinewise Awards, 31 May.
Congratulations to PhD candidate Nicole McDerby and the University of Canberra Discipline of Pharmacy team on the win.
The ground-breaking research trialled the placement of a pharmacist in a residential aged care facility with a view to improving the administration of medicines to aged care residents.
NPS MedicineWise Executive Manager Kerren Hosking says, ‘Those winning awards are excellent examples of innovative, relevant and useful initiatives showcasing the depth of work underway across the country to support safe and effective use of medicines’.
The University of Canberra entry highlighted many promising areas for improving quality use of medicines, including improved safety in medication administration in a population at high risk of medication misadventure, the award announcement said.
For Goodwin, the key areas the project aimed to address were:
The trial exceeded expectations, and outcomes were very positive across all three areas. The pharmacist was placed in Goodwin’s David Harper House in Monash.
‘The clinical, operational and economic evidence gained from this study will be useful to inform whether the integration of a residential care pharmacist into aged care facilities is feasible, and may inform potential government or private industry funding models’, says Goodwin Chief Executive Officer, Sue Levy.
‘We are very proud to have partnered in this project,’ says Ms Levy.
The biennial award was announced at the National Medicines Symposium in Canberra on Thursday, 31 May.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics in May 2018 and is co-authored by Nicole McDerby, and Professors Sam Kosari, Mark Naunton and Jackson Thomas, of the University of Canberra Faculty of Health.
The project also features in the May/edition of Australian Ageing Agenda magazine.