title: Medication management policy, practice and research in Australian residential aged care: Current and future directions.
abstract: Eight percent of Australians aged 65 years and over receive residential aged care each year. Residents are increasingly older, frailer and have complex care needs on entry to residential aged care. Up to 63% of Australian residents of aged care facilities take nine or more medications regularly. Together, these factors place residents at high risk of adverse drug events. This paper reviews medication-related policies, practices and research in Australian residential aged care. Complex processes underpin prescribing, supply and administration of medications in aged care facilities. A broad range of policies and resources are available to assist health professionals, aged care facilities and residents to optimise medication management. These include national guiding principles, a standardised national medication chart, clinical medication reviews and facility accreditation standards. Recent Australian interventions have improved medication use in residential aged care facilities. Generating evidence for prescribing and deprescribing that is specific to residential aged care, health workforce reform, medication-related quality indicators and inter-professional education in aged care are important steps toward optimising medication use in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; NHMRC Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, Level 3, Old Leighton Lodge (Building 8 via Gate 6), Department of Rehabilitation and Aged care (RACS), Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, Palmerston Road, Hornsby, New South Wales, 2077, Australia. Electronic address: janet.sluggett@monash.edu.
authors.forename: Janet K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Sluggett
authors.affiliation: Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia. Electronic address: jenni.ilomaki@monash.edu.
authors.forename: Jenni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ilomäki
authors.affiliation: NHMRC Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, Level 3, Old Leighton Lodge (Building 8 via Gate 6), Department of Rehabilitation and Aged care (RACS), Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, Palmerston Road, Hornsby, New South Wales, 2077, Australia; Brightwater Research Centre, Brightwater Care Group, Level 3, 355 Scarborough Beach Rd, Osborne Park, Western Australia, 6017, Australia. Electronic address: Karla.Seaman@brightwatergroup.com.
authors.forename: Karla L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Seaman
authors.affiliation: NHMRC Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, Level 3, Old Leighton Lodge (Building 8 via Gate 6), Department of Rehabilitation and Aged care (RACS), Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, Palmerston Road, Hornsby, New South Wales, 2077, Australia; Helping Hand, 34 Molesworth St, North Adelaide, South Australia, 5006, Australia. Electronic address: mcorlis@helpinghand.org.au.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corlis
authors.affiliation: Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia; NHMRC Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, Level 3, Old Leighton Lodge (Building 8 via Gate 6), Department of Rehabilitation and Aged care (RACS), Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, Palmerston Road, Hornsby, New South Wales, 2077, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia; Sansom Institute, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia. Electronic address: simon.bell2@monash.edu.
authors.forename: J Simon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research / Q000592:standards
keywords: Australia; Medication management; Policy; Quality improvement; Quality use of medicines; Residential aged care