National Prescribing Service

NPS (National Prescribing Service)

Overview

The NPS provides independent evidence-based information, services and resources to health professionals and the community on Quality Use of Medicines (QUM). NPS is independent of the government and the pharmaceutical industry. NPS is a non-profit organisation funded by the Department of Health and Ageing.

Quality Prescribing Initiative (QPI)

The QPI is one of the initiatives of the Practice Incentives Program (PIP). The program recognises and rewards general practices that provide comprehensive, quality care and are either accredited or working towards accreditation. The QPI/PIP payment is paid to practices for completion of activities that contribute to quality care including prescribing. Participating practices are entitled to $1.00 per standardised whole patient equivalent (SWPE) or around $1,000.00 per full time equivalent GP.

The level of participation in NPS activities is determined by Medicare Australia following practice registration. If you would like more information on how the QPI can work for your practice, contact Medicare on 1800 222 032. The QPI/PIP participation activities for each PIP cycle (1st May to 30th April) include:

Educational visits/small groups
Clinical Audits
Case Studies

On average three activities must be completed each PIP cycle per FTE GP. One in every three activities must be a clinical audit, and the other two may include educational visits or case studies (it is optional to choose one of each or two of the same activity). It is not necessary for each GP within the practice to participate. At least one or more GPs will need to complete the total number of activities listed on the Medicare PIP statement within the PIP cycle in order to receive the practice incentive payment.

GPs can participate in educational activities even if they choose not to register with Medicare for the QPI/PIP payment.

Education Visits/Small Group Discussions

The Divisions Quality Use of Medicines Facilitator will provide one on one educational visits with GPs, Pharmacists and practice staff to allow the effective delivery of key messages for the current NPS topic. During the visit the facilitator can discuss how current evidence on a specific therapeutic topic translates into quality use of medicines for your patients.

Current Division Topic (started April 2012)

Antibiotic Resistance and Respiratory Tract Infections

The Division QUM facilitator, Jane Donnelly, will be visiting general practice to discuss up-to-date, independent, evidence based information on antibiotic resistance and respiratory tract infections. Participation in the program will discuss:

Antibiotic resistance requires consideration at both a population and individual level.
Establish a patient’s beliefs and expectations about antibiotics for acute RTIs and tailor communication strategies accordingly.
Encourage self-management of acute RTIs and explain why antibiotics may not be appropriate.
Consider the issue of resistance when prescribing antibiotics.
Consider clinical usefulness and the associated risks to your patient before ordering an imaging test

Resources

Case Studies

Case studies present a clinical scenario accompanied by a set of questions that are designed to help participants refine their clinical decision making skills. All participants will receive a feedback report that includes expert commentaries on the case study along with aggregated responses which provide a snapshot of your colleagues responses. The expert commentaries are usually provided by a specialist physician and a GP with a special interest in the area. GPs can complete case studies online or alternatively you can use the printed version of the case study that has been inserted within NPS News.

Clinical Audits

Clinical audits are provided free of charge to GPs. They can be completed individually or used in group activities and workshops. All participants receive a personalised feedback report and certificate of completion as well as receive RACGP or ACRRM points. NPS clinical audits are released three to four times a year. Enrolment forms are mailed directly to all GPs as an insert in Prescribing Practice Review. View current clinical audit

Additional NPS Services

Guide to medicines information resources

Use this guide to find important medicines information resources relevant to Australian health professionals. You can also find telephone numbers for phone-based medicines information services. The guide provides a brief description of the type of information to be found in each resource, its availability, whether there is a charge for access, and the country of origin.

Adverse drug reactions
Complementary medicines
Drug cost
Safety of drugs in pregnancy and lactation
New drugs and research

Visit the NPS web site for additional information.

Rational Assessment of Drugs and Research (RADAR)

NPS RADAR provides independent, evidence-based assessment of new drugs, new PBS listings and the latest research for doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals. NPS RADAR is published three times per year, in line with major updates to the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits. It will be available around the time when new medicines can be prescribed or dispensed, subscribe for your free NPS RADAR email alert.