Antimicrobial Stewardship in Australian Health Care (the AMS Book), initially published in 2018, continues to be updated and enhanced with additional evidence, information, and topic areas to inform antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) strategies, interventions, and implementation across a range of healthcare settings.
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Based on advice, feedback and discussions with clinical experts and health services from across Australia, the Commission has compiled a list of FAQs and resources that may assist health services in the prevention and reduction of hospital-acquired complications (HACs).
Explore these resources and share your feedback.
Effective surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in acute and community settings informs strategies for infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS).
This national standard describes best practice care for the care of cataract including referral, assessment, decisions about surgery and post-operative care.
Data on antimicrobial use in Australian hospitals are collected by the National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey (NAPS) and the National Antimicrobial Utilisation Surveillance Program (NAUSP).
NAPS also collects data on antimicrobial use and infections in aged care homes.
More than 900,000 colonoscopies are performed in Australia annually. The Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standard describes the safe, appropriate and high-quality use of colonoscopy.
APAS collects, analyses and reports on de-identified patient-level antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data from routine susceptibility testing results.
AGAR collects, analyses and reports on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data on selected priority organisms that cause bloodstream infections.
This page provides resources and a reference table of medication safety alerts, notices and guidance issued by the Australian states and territories and by international organisations using the APINCHS classification. There could be other more recent alerts, advice and guidance related to other medicines or practice areas which may be relevant to you or your organisation.
In Australia, the APINCHS acronym and classification provides a framework to assist clinicians to focus on a group of medicines known to be associated with high potential for medication-related harm. APINCHS does not encompass all high risk medicines, but it is a valuable tool to raise clinician awareness and to educate them about medication safety systems.
Categorisation of and policy relating to high risk medicines may vary between states, territories and health service organisations. This means that health service organisations should have systems and process in place for the safe use of high risk medicines.
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
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.
These briefs summarise the evidence on the effectiveness of safety interventions that aim to improve medication administration.
The New South Wales Clinical Excellence Commission, in consultation with the Commission has made the decision to decommission the Medication Safety Self-Assessment (MSSA®) for Australian Hospitals on 30 September 2025. In response to the discontinuation, the Commission has notified states, territories and accreditation bodies and in August 2025, will remove references to the MSSA® for Australian Hospitals from this website. A disclaimer will be added to the webpage where the implementation guide for the National Safety and Quality Health Service Medication Safety Standard is hosted.
The National Indicators for Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) in Australian Hospitals 2014 support measurement of safety and quality of medicines use. The individual indicators are listed on this page.
The Commission, with the Australian Digital Health Agency and the Australian Government Department of Health, has developed guidelines to standardise the presentation of on-screen medicines information. The aim was to ensure benefit from investments in e-health initiatives and to maximise patient safety.
Digital health systems such as electronic medication management (EMM) can improve the safety and quality of health care.
By using EMM, healthcare services can reduce the number of preventable adverse medication events, and medication prescribing and dispensing errors. EMM systems can improve the accuracy, visibility and legibility of medical information, so that the communication between professionals and consumers is clearer.
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.