Australian Prescriber

Australian Prescriber
Suite 3, 2 Phipps Cl Deakin ACT 2600
Phone: (02) 6202 3100
Email: info@australianprescriber.com
Website: www.australianprescriber.com.au

National Prescribing Service

Level 7/418A Elizabeth St Surry Hills 2010
PO Box 1147 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
Phone: (02) 8217 8700
Fax: (02) 9211 7578
Email: info@nps.org.au
Website: www.nps.org.au

NPS RADAR
RADAR is Rational Assessment of Drugs And Research. It provides timely, independent information to general practitioners, specialists, pharmacists, other health professionals and consumers.
Website: www.npsradar.org.au

Medimate

Community Quality Use of Medicines Program
This is a patient education service about medication run by NPS and the RACGP. Medimate is a publication which tells people where to find information on side-effects, what they need to know about their medicines, storage and more. It particularly highlights the need for people to talk to their doctor or pharmacist about all their medicines - prescription, over-the-counter and complementary.

NPS Medicines Line: 1300 888 763 daytime only
Fax: (02) 9993 8322
Website: www.medimate.org.au

PBS Information Line

Phone: 1800 020 613

Prescription Drug Smuggling Hotline

Also known as Overseas Drug Diversion Information Line
Phone: 1800 500 147

Prescription Shopping Project

The project seeks to identify patients who are obtaining PBS medicines in excess of therapeutic need and yo reduce the number of PBS medicines being obtained. It buids on the success of the Doctor Shopping program administered by the HIC from 1997 to the end of June 2002. The project aims to:
- educate and prevent individuals from obtaining PBS medicines in excess of therapeutic need
- identify individuals involved
- intervene with involved individuals and/or their prescribers

Identifying Patients
Patients are reviewed if:
- they have been prescribed PBS medicines from six or more different prescribers (not specialists) within a three month interval
- they have obtained 25 or more PBS items for target medicines in a three month period. Target medicines initially will focus on all nervous system medicines.
- they have obtained 50 or more PBS items in a three month period
About 20,000 persons meet the above criteria. PBS items do not include medication obtained through private scripts, over-the-counter medicines and doctors' bag items.

More Information
Website: www.hic.gov.au
Privacy: The Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner: 1300 363 992, or visit www.privacy.gov.au
Patient Information (for patients): Manager, Information Release Section, HIC, PO Box 1001, Tuggeranong DC 2901

Therapeutic Goods Administration

Phone: 1800 809 361 for reporting problems with medical devices.
Phone: (02) 6232 8386 for supplies of Report of a Suspected Adverse Drug Reaction, the ADRAC "Blue Card".

Therapeutic Goods Administration
PO Box 100
Woden ACT 2606