MedsCheck/Diabetes MedsCheck
Are your medicines working for you?
Every year, up to 210,000 Australians are admitted to hospital due to medication problems. At least 50% of these admissions could be avoided by better medicine management.
A MedsCheck or Diabetes MedsCheck will help you understand your medicines and stay out of hospital.
Diabetes MedsCheck
A MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck is a service funded by the Australian
Government and involves one-on-one time with your pharmacist, in the pharmacy to discuss all your medicines. There is no cost to the consumer to receive either a MedsCheck or Diabetes MedsCheck service.
By working together, you and your pharmacist will ensure you are getting the most out of your medicines.
Why have a Diabetes MedsCheck?
A MedsCheck or Diabetes MedsCheck will help you better manage your medicines. It will help:
- Increase your knowledge about your medicines;
- Increase your confidence in using your medicines; and
- Reduce your risk of an avoidable trip to hospital.
Many different people are helped by a MedsCheck:
- Are you from a non-English speaking background?
- Do you have dexterity, vision or hearing problems?
- Do you live by yourself and/or do not have access to social support?
- Do you have diabetes?
- Do you have a chronic condition such as asthma or emphysema?
- Do you have a mental health condition?
- Do you have a heart condition?
- Have you recently been discharged from hospital?
- Are you taking several medicines? (including supermarket or herbal medicines)
- Have you had recent changes to your medicines?
- Do your medicines need monitoring? (e.g. blood thinning medicines)
- Do any of your medicines make you feel unwell?
- Do you use devices to assist with medication management such as monitoring blood glucose or a nebuliser?
- Do you attend more than one doctor including general practitioners and specialists?
- Are you sometimes unsure about which medicines you should be taking?
- Would you like to be more confident about understanding your medicines?
For a patient to be eligible for a MedsCheck they must:
- Be a Medicare or DVA cardholder;
- Have not received a MedsCheck, Diabetes MedsCheck, Home Medicines Review or Residential Medication Management Review in the last 12 months;
- Be living at home in a community setting; and
- Be taking five or more prescription medicines.
For a patient to be eligible for a Diabetes MedsCheck they must:
- Be a Medicare and/or DVA cardholder;
- Have not received a MedsCheck, Diabetes MedsCheck, Home Medicines Review (HMR) or Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) in the last 12 months;
- Be living at home in a community setting;
- Have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (in the last 12 months) or have less than ideally controlled type 2 diabetes; and
- Be unable to gain timely access to existing diabetes education /health services in their community.