NPS MedicineWise will cease all operations on 31 December 2022. This follows the recent decision by the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler, to continue with the redesign of the Quality Use of Therapeutics, Diagnostics and Pathology (QUTDP) Program announced in the March 2022 Federal Budget.
Under the redesign, from 1 January 2023, NPS MedicineWise will no longer receive grant funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care to deliver Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) functions. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) will take on core QUM 'stewardship' functions while education programs for health professionals and consumers will move to contestable funding.
Although NPS MedicineWise will no longer operate, a number of NPS MedicineWise programs and services will be transitioning to other organisations.
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC)
The following programs and services will be transitioning to the ACSQHC:
MedicineInsight
MedicineWise App and Doctor's Bag App
Choosing Wisely Australia website (www.choosingwisely.org.au)
Delivery of the National Medicines Symposium
Delivery of MBS and PBS Practice Reviews
Value in Prescribing bDMARDs materials
NPS MedicineWise website (www.nps.org.au) and online learning platform (https://learn.nps.org.au). (Excludes Australian Prescriber journal and Good Medicine Better Health.)
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
The following programs are transitioning to NACCHO:
Good Medicine Better Health
Resources to support medicines use in remote locations
Competitive tender and grant process
The following programs are currently the subject of a competitive tender and grant process for future delivery being managed by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care:
Medicines Line and Adverse Medicine Events Line
Australian Prescriber journal
National Prescribing Curriculum
National educational programs for health professionals and consumers
These programs will continue to be delivered by NPS MedicineWise until December 2022. Following this, future service provision will be subject to outcomes of the competitive processes.
For further details regarding NPS MedicineWise transitioning functions, please go here.
