1:30min
Be Medicinewise Week will be held on 14-20 October and this year the national public campaign will focus on the health of Australia’s ageing population.
The awareness week aims to give older Australians the tools and information they need to make better decisions about their medicines and their health.
Medicine problems are common in older people. Around one in three unplanned hospital admissions involving older Australians are due to problems with medicines but half of these problems could be prevented.
During Be Medicinewise Week, NPS MedicineWise is urging the public to learn how to make better decisions for their health.
Optometrists can support the week by discussing quality use of medicines with patients and directing them to the NPS MedicineWise website which has tools and resources.
Optometrists can also request the Be Medicinewise Week poster by emailing media@nps.org.au, and order NPS Medicines Lists and other medicinewise resources from http://www.nps.org.au/order-subscribe.
For more information about the medicinewise movement visit www.nps.org.au/bemedicinewiseweek.
NPS MedicineWise is independent, evidence-based and not-for-profit. It provides practical tools and information about medicines, health conditions and medical tests.