Medication Safety

The Commission works to improve the safety and quality of medication use in Australia. It leads and coordinates national initiatives to reduce medication errors and harm from medicines. Medication safety forms part of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards (second edition).

Information in these pages can help health service organisations and clinicians identify and implement strategies to improve medication safety.

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COVID-19 and medicines

  • The Commission has developed a set of resources following discussions with the Australian Government Department of Health to help inform planning and response to COVID-19 in Australian health service organisations (HSOs).

    Whilst the mainstay for treatment of COVID-19 is supportive care, the global health community (including in Australia) is working with COVID-19 as a priority and is releasing information on a daily basis. Many organisations have published on COVID-19 from a perspective of their work and the consumers they serve. The guidance resources prepared will be reviewed and revised according to the frequently changing landscape of information. The resources include:

    • COVID-19 Medicines management: Position statements on medicine-related issues
    • Web resources for COVID-19 Links to organisations with dedicated COVID-19 information, including government, peak professional bodies and consumer focused associations. This resource also includes links to medical journals/publishers that have made COVID-19 publications freely available to assist evidence-based decision making.

Consultations

  • Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety Discussion Paper

    In October 2019, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council made Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety the 10th National Health Priority Area. The Commission was subsequently engaged to develop a national baseline report on the Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety. To assist in the development of this report, the Commission is seeking input from clinicians, consumers and carers on the discussion paper developed for public consultation.

  • WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge

    In March 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the third Global Patient Safety Challenge with the theme of medication without harm. In April 2020, the Commission published Australia's response, highlighting Australia's goal to reduce medication errors, adverse drug events and medication-related harm. 

Medication charts and medication chart auditing

Position and safety statements

  • Position and safety statements
    • Topical application of chlorhexidine and the risks of accidental injection
    • Neuraxial connectors and ISO 80369-6:2016
    • Safety statement on metered dose inhalers
    • Paediatric prescribing position statement

Medication Safety Standard

Electronic medication management

Safer naming, labelling and packaging of medicines

High risk medicines

Medication reconciliation

Quality use of medicines in hospitals

Medication safety training and tools

  • Medication safety training and tools
    • Medication safety self-assessment tools
    • Interventions to improve medication safety - evidence briefs
    • Medication safety and quality education and training