High risk medicines (HRMs) are medications that have an increased risk of causing significant patient harm or death if they are misused or used in error.1
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Medicine shortages and discontinuations can potentially compromise patient safety. Guidance and resources are issued, which advise on:
- strategies on conserving medicines during medicine shortages and associated safety considerations
- strategies and safety considerations during periods of medicine discontinuations.
Medication errors are one of the most reported clinical incidents in acute health care settings and, while rates of serious harm are low, their prevalence is of concern particularly as many are preventable. A recognised major cause of medication errors is the use of potentially dangerous abbreviations and dose expressions.
The National Standard Medication Chart (NSMC) audit aims to improve the safety and quality of medication charting in Australian hospitals who use paper-based NSMCs. Audit data can help health service organisations evaluate the effectiveness of NSMC safety features. These features can contribute to improved health outcomes for patients and identify areas for continuous quality improvement within hospitals.
The National Indicators for Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) in Australian Hospitals 2014 support measurement of safety and quality of medicines use for quality improvement purposes, and to help health services to drive changes in healthcare practice. The indicators have been designed for local use.
Obtaining a best possible medication history (BPMH) is an important first step in medication reconciliation.
Antimicrobials are important medicines used to treat infections. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to human health and patient safety. Hundreds of people in Australia die each year as a result of AMR.
The Commission has developed a range of resources for consumers, clinicians and health service organisations to support improvements in health literacy.
Medication charts help to standardise medication management and can increase medication safety.
The charts are based on the best evidence available at the time of development. Healthcare professionals are advised to use clinical discretion and consider the circumstances for individual patients when using the charts for patient medication management in acute care settings.
Download infographics for the Second Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation.
The Osteoarthritis of the Knee Clinical Care Standard (2024) is endorsed by key professional and consumer organisations.
Decision support tools can encourage shared decision making by informing discussions between clinicians and consumers.
Well-designed incident management systems assist patients, carers, families and the workforce to identify, report, manage and learn from incidents.
CARAlert collects, analyses and reports on nationally agreed priority organisms with critical resistances to last-line antimicrobials.
The Commission’s Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) Project contributes to the national program for surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance in human health across Australia.
A hospital-acquired complication (HAC) refers to a complication for which clinical risk mitigation strategies may reduce (but not necessarily eliminate) the risk of that complication occurring.
Getting the best outcomes for patients and reducing harm are the goals of the Atlas series. Each Atlas examines a series of health topics, investigates variation and the possible reasons for it, and provides specific achievable actions to reduce unwarranted variation.
The rate of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SABSI) in a hospital is considered to be an indication of the effectiveness of the hospital’s infection prevention and control program.